Guilds of Hyrule
by a-salty-tol
Summary: AU. Link is a young man aspiring to become a part of the well-known knights guild, but as he joins the guild, meets new companions, and explores Hyrule, he realizes he has become an obstacle in a plot to kill Queen Zelda, a goal that will not be delayed at any cost, and a goal that Link will do anything to stop from being accomplished. (DISCONTINUED)
1. An Aspiring Knight

**Quick disclaimer: I dont own LoZ or related characters.**

 **Whew! My first story. My writing skills are mediocre, at best.**

 **All I really have to say is that I hope you enjoy it and reveiw if you wish! But I'd appreciate reveiws to feel more confident.  
**

 **This is set in BotW's Hyrule, by the way.**

 **Let's begin the first chapter!  
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The tall grasses swayed in the gentle wind, soon pinned down by anyone who stepped on the green shoots. Link waded through the sea of swaying plants, intent on making his way back to his small town. It was only one of quite a few on Hyrule Field, and even then, dwarfed by Hyrule Castle Town.

Link turned in a small circle, taking in the blue sky above him. From the edge of his gaze, he caught a glimpse of Death Mountain and the large bird-shaped monument, both marking the homes of the two races, the Gorons in the volcanic regions and then the Rito of the chillier areas. The warmer Gerudo canyon hid the aptly named Gerudo desert, home of the identically named Gerudo race, and hidden from view by trees and raised terrain was the Zora's domain, the home of the fishlike people. And then Hyrule Castle was like the diamond of the treasure trove that was Hyrule, a looming spectacle of architecture and culture.

Link always wondered what it'd be like, being one of Hyrule's appointed knights. There were in total about five different guilds, and Link always had his sights set on becoming a knight, and the others were canceled out simply because he lacked in certain skills. The knights were known for their sword-and-shield skills, something Link honed ages ago.

The mage's guild required him to have decent magical skills and be familiar with spells and elemental weapons. Link never got used to the feelings of using an element-infused weapon, and never showed magical prowess. The next option, the scholar's guild required him to be patient and willing to learn. Link was too eager to fight and protect.

On the other hand, there was the merchant's guild, but Link wasn't very talkative and had an issue when dealing with any kind of pottery, so that was out of the question. The thief's guild was never an option of his, most people, in fact has lost their trust in that guild when a rouge thief assassinated the former king and queen, leaving the young Princess Zelda to rule alone. It was also known as dishonorable, even though the thieves had always been a loyal ally. Link just was too loud most of the time, anyways.

With the youngest you had to be to join a guild being fourteen years old, Link had waited longer than most, his current age being around eighteen, although most knights were around that age when they applied. To apply, you either had to venture to the town that the guild was based in or wait for the monthly visit by the guild leaders. Link had only recently gotten a horse and had been planning to head to the castle town the next day.

Turning his gaze back to the town, he continued wading through the grass. His traveler's sword and shield were securely bound to his back, ready to travel across the grassland. He could see his town nestled near a small group of trees. Once he passed the trees he'd technically be home, and he could get ready at his house.

Reaching the village, he stood at the tree line and gaze around the town. It was rather small, only about five houses and a fountain. Link's house was the only one with two floors, but the others were a bit larger. One was simply like a tower and was the smallest, and the others had at least two rooms, all stone walled with plain carpets.

Link stepped down the grassy slope and on to the cobble street. He sauntered down the street to his house, not too many people were out at this time. He pushed open the door to the bottom part of his home, where he kept his items and food. He stretched and started looking around the room checking his cooking pot to make sure it was lit. He generally kept his cooking items in a chest near the wall, and he walked over and rummaged through. Fish, nuts, fruits, he had pretty much everything, and decided to make himself an omelet, and seafood paella, and a rice bowl with meat.

It wasn't much but would hold him over for the journey to the castle town. Hesitating before leaving, Link reached back down into his food storage and pulled out one of his endura carrots, for his horse. The young man glanced around his room once more, and walked back out, walking near the wall and then hopping up the stairs to the second story two steps at a time.

The second story was mainly his bedroom, his small bed lined up with a wall, but his drawer held clothing. Currently, Link was just wearing his ill-fitting pants and shirt, just a brown color for the pants and a lighter color for the shirt. Opening his clothing chest, he pulled out his Hylian tunic and some simple traveling Hylian pants. Once dressed, he turned and walked back down to the grass, looking around the small town once more. A few people waved at him, but he said nothing. Walking up and climbing onto Maddox, he set the horse on the road, and left to Hyrule Castle at a slow gait.

Listening to the clip-clop of the horse's hooves on the cobblestone, he gazed at the beautiful castle, nearly silhouetted by the sun setting behind it. If Link wanted to get there without travelling under the cover of night, he'd have to find somewhere to set up camp. Under a tree wouldn't be the best idea, but in the shadow of a boulder or old ruins would work, and he brought extra cloth and he could find sticks for a makeshift tent. He had brought some flint and wood, so he'd be ready to make a campfire if needed.

Watching the grass on his way to the castle town, he watched foxes snuffling around for food, hearing him and then running off, their bushy tails trailing after them. Birds flew off if he got too close and he stayed far away from any bokoblins prowling around. As night fell, Link stopped in an old, ruined carriage with the top still somehow intact. He gently led Maddox under it and started to set up a campfire as it started raining.

Pulling out his traveler's sword, he struck the flint and set the wood alight, sitting down as the flames sparked on the campfire and ate up some small leaves mixed in with the wood. The warmth was pleasant, and he held his hands out, trying to ignore how some raindrops were blown towards him, causing cold spots on his body when they splashed him. He reached up and dug through the saddle bags and pulled out the rice bowl he had saved for then and set it near the fire to keep it warm.

Maddox neighed next to him, craning his neck down and nudging Link's shoulder until Link laughed and reached up to scratch the horse's snout affectionately. He reached into the nearest saddle bag and pulled out a carrot, holding it up to Maddox's mouth, and watched the horse eat the offered food.

After a few minutes the meat and rice looked ready and he pulled out the chopsticks in one of the smaller pouches and ate while watching the rain. Eating the rice, he felt a nudge on his shoulder, looking over to the side where Maddox was nuzzling his shoulder. Link laughed and gently pushed away the horse's snout. "Back it up, I already gave you a carrot, you don't need rice, too."

The clouds made it fairly difficult to see if it was still daytime or not. As time went on, though, the clouds became a bit harder to see and the sky became darker. Finishing up the last bit of meat, Link set the bowl down while he contemplated whether or not to put out the fire before going to sleep.

Watching the rain for a bit and feeling a slight be of heat, he decided that he and Maddox would be warm enough. Grabbing the bowl and holding it out in the rain, Link let it fill then he splashed it over the fire before stomping it out. Making sure no sparks were left, he laid against the carriage and waited for sleep.

Link didn't normally dream, but his dreams were filled with scenes of his knighting by Queen Zelda. She was knighting him in front of the rest of the knights, pride rippling through the crowd as she spoke the set words, demanding his loyalty to the kingdom of Hyrule, begging of his duty to protect all peoples of Hyrule, not just the Hylians but also the Gerudo, Zora, Goron, and Rito. As the dream went on, Link noticed more details of where he was. It was an out-of-body experience, and he was able to look around at the regal room. The four people behind him interested him the most, but he couldn't make out their faces or features. Any sense of them being people was basically boiled down to just their blurry shape. Turning back to himself and Zelda, he could see her wearing her royal guard uniform and the diamond circlet that told of her status as Queen. Link himself was wearing the greaves and chest plate of the knights, the queen holding the helmet as she laid a knight's sword down in front of Link. The plume green, Zelda seemed to look the helmet over before placing it on the new knight's head. A moment after the metal touched his hair, Link was immediately converted to a first-person view to see a shard of darkness from behind pierce Zelda's heart like an arrow, killing her.


	2. Damien and Hyrule Castle

**Second chapter! Yeah!**

 **This one's coming out quickly because I had it mostly written when I published the first chapter.**

 **Anyways, hope you enjoy, and review if you want.**

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Link woke up with a shock.

Next to him, Maddox neighed and nudged his shoulder. Link pushed his mouth away, and standing up and muttering, "I'm awake, I'm awake. It was just a dream..."

The early morning sun greeted him as he looked up at the sky, stepping out from under the carriage. Reaching blindly behind him as he fixed the leather chest guard with his other hand, he gripped the horse's reins and lead him out back onto the road. Letting Maddox chew on some grass between the cobble, he gathered his things up, greeting another traveler as they passed while he was cleaning off the bowl.

Placing all of the things he could fit into the saddle bags, he pulled another carrot out and let Maddox eat it as he settled himself on the saddle, gathering the reins in his hands. Once Maddox was finished eating, they set off. Following the path for about an hour and passing quite a few travelers also on their way to the castle town, Link slowed the horse down to a walk.

With Maddox going slow enough, Link pulled out his omelet, and ate as Maddox brought them into the castle town. Finishing off the egg, Link spurred Maddox on to getting him going faster, beginning to get impatient. Now at a gallop, Link leaned back and sat up, allowing the wind to blow his hair around, making his ponytail wag around behind him. Adrenaline filled him, and he spurred Maddox on faster. Closing his eyes, he was almost about to hold his arms out when he heard someone shouting for him to stop. Opening his eyes and pulling roughly on the reins to slow Maddox more than the horse was already attempting to do, he jumped off the horse just as he stopped.

Almost falling on the road as he ran up to the person, he helped them up. Maddox sniffed at their shoulder, only a few inches away. "I'm so sorry, I didn't see you! A-are you ok?"

Helping them to their feet, they nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. Watch where you're going, though. Your eyes were closed, weren't they?" Link couldn't answer, and it didn't seem like the traveler was waiting for one anyway. "I'm Damien. I'm heading to the castle town. How about you?"

"Oh, I'm Link. I'm heading to castle town, as well. I'm planning on joining the knight guild. You're doing the same?"

"Yeah, and I was worried I would never get to even try out before just dying under your horse's hooves."

He reached up and ran his fingers through his short black hair, looking up at Link with his brown eyes. "Sorry if I'm a bit snappy, I get angry a bit too easily. You mind keeping pace with me on the way to the town? It'd be nice to get to know you a bit more."

Link climbed back on Maddox, the horse eyeing Damien in what could be considered a suspicious way. "Yeah, I'll keep pace with you. Come on." He spurred Maddox on, going slow enough so that Damien could walk beside them.

Spending a few minutes in what could be considered an awkward silence, Damien sighed. "What kind of knight are you hoping to be? I'm more of a claymore person, except I lost my old travelers claymore a few days ago. I'm seeing your traveler's sword and shield, so I'm guessing a normal knight."

"Yeah. Did you consider any other guilds before the knights?"

"Yes, actually. My mother was in the merchant's guild and my father was in the scholars. I considered both, but didn't find them interesting enough, and the thieves were too suspicious to me. I gravitated to the knights because my skill with a claymore was well known and I generally protected my home in Lurelin Village."

"Lurelin? Dang, you've travelled pretty far. I'm impressed. Both of my parents were knights and died a few years ago, and I wish to carry on their legacy."

Link sighed and leaned over a bit. Damien went silent as Link closed his eyes as Maddox walked on to the town. It had been five years since they died, and their death was due to trying to protect the former king and queen from the thief assassin. It had been one week before Zelda waged a mostly unjustified month-long war with the thief guild. But now, just about both the knight and thief guilds have forgiven each other, but Zelda still harbored a distrust that all people knew about.

Maddox stopped almost abruptly, and Link heard Damien behind him. "Well, we're here. Come on, leave Maddox somewhere safe and we'll head up to the sanctum. They're accepting knight applications today. Hurry up, I'll meet you at the gates."

Link nodded, watching his new friend walk through the gates, and after a moment, spurred Maddox on after him. The castle town was bustling with energy, people walking down every street. Each house had two stories and were made of wood and bricks, a few people out on their porches. The middle was visible from where Link was, the fountain spurting water in the center of a plaza just in front of the way to the castle itself. Link allowed Maddox to bring him around the town as he looked for a place to settle him. Passing multiple homes, a large inn, food and clothing stores and everyday general shops, Link was amazed by the size compared to his tiny home village. A few people waved at him, and he was more than inclined to wave back. After a few minutes of wandering, he found a small stable near the town walls, and entrusted Maddox to the friendly owner, paying twenty of his brought fifty rupees for his horse to stay. Walking away from the stable, Link was drawn to a bakery, and decided on buying a loaf of bread for five more rupees.

"I'm wasting my money..."

Over the rooftops, Link could glimpse the castle, he just needed to find the entrance. The warm bread in hand, Link wandered the streets, eventually finding his way to the plaza. Children played around the fountain with their parents watching, a dog racing around, trying to catch its own tail. A marble design of the Triforce was at the bottom of the fountain, and Link rested his elbows on the fountain edge and stared down at it for a few minutes eventually sitting down and eating the bread.

Someone elbowed him in the side, and he looked up to see Damien tugging on his arm, willing for him to come. "Dude, the castle is so cool up close, come on! Seriously, you're taking forever, hurry it up."

Link shrugged his arm off. "Yeah, yeah, I'm coming." They both walked through the open metal doors and walked along the cobble road up to the castle. The moat glittered in the sunlight, and some fish were visible near the surface, most being hylian trout. Walking over and stooping down near the edge, he watched the water ripple below them. Damien tugged him away from the edge and pulled him behind him. Link sighed and looked around, and taking in the sights of the castle, looking around at the blue-roofed towers and openings to parts of the castle. Damien kept his hand around Link's wrist, and Link decided that it'd be better if he let the other traveler guide him up to the castle.

They walked through the two guardhouses, both of them assuming that guards would stay in here to stop intruders, assuming that they came right through the main road. A few knights with halberds waved to them, but Damien tugged on Link's arm harder, though the gold-haired man managed to wave back to most of them. They all seemed friendly and seemed to be enjoying themselves. Link silently hoped that he wouldn't be put in their position, he'd rather be the one to walk the roads and be more of a border patrol, or travel around Hyrule even after his completed training. Damien had his gaze straight forward the entire time.

"Lighted up a little, Damien. I know you really want to be a knight, but you might want to slow down and smell the hypothetical roses- Hey, there's some flowers over there."

He shook his wrist out of the serious man's grip and walked over to a kneeled down in front of the yellow and orange flowers. He heard Damien sigh behind him and walk over. They both picked one, and Link held it up to his nose and smelled it. Damien eyed his, his pointed ears twitching, just about looking suspicious. As far as they were concerned, just in front of them was the fall into the moat, so they both jumped when the shadowy figure in front of them finally spoke, his voice deep and smooth. "Enjoying the flowers? They'll probably die in a few weeks when it gets colder. I honestly prefer the ones are the Hateno area."

Both future knights jumped to their feet, locking eyes with the tall man in front of them. He was considerably taller than both of them, over six feet. His clothing told them he was a thief, a black cloak covering and half his arms and going down to his feet and his hood behind his head, not on. Under the cloak he wore a fairly abused suit of what looked to be a set of clothing to muffle the noise of clothes, some armor protecting his body. The most conspicuous thing he was wearing was a red scarf that could be considered flamboyant, contrasting with the black of his thief's clothing. Their gaze reached his face, tan and unshaven, dark circles underlining his green eyes, suggesting a severe lack of sleep, or just stress.

Link didn't know what to say, he had never seen a thief before, but he didn't look like he was someone all too pleasant, he looked more to be very rough around the edges. Damien, however, had something to say. "Jeez, old man, you scared us. What's a thief like you doing here, anyway?"

"First things first, I'm twenty-three, and I wouldn't really recommend guessing a person's age the moment you meet them. Also, you have no more right to be here than I do. Touch up on your knowledge on how things work, the world doesn't revolve around your biased views. Who are you two? Both of you seem to like the view of the castle."

Damien opened his mouth for a remark, but Link cut him off. "We're Link and Damien. I'm Link. We're both heading to the castle to become knights. Who are you? Why are you here"

The thief crossed his arms, looking back at them with disdain in his eyes. "Knights, huh? Planning to rip apart monsters in a loyal-to-the-kingdom way? I'm Linebeck, by the way. I'm just getting a closer look at the castle."

Damien growled and spun around to walk away. Link turned but waved before he turned away as well to follow Damien. The thief unnerved him a bit, so he sped away with Damien. The road to the sanctum had only a few meters left, and Link turned back for a moment to see the thief had turned around, facing the opposite direction, the gentle wind not making any effect on his cloak.

The sanctum was magnificent in Link's opinion, Damien made no indication of his thoughts. To the side of the doorway, a tall, middle-aged woman was sitting with her back to the stone, inspecting what looked to be a green glowing sword. Link walked up, passing Damien, and watched her run a finger down the blade, small sparks flying off it.

She looked up, surprising Link slightly with her red and yellow eyes. "Hm? Do you want something?"

Link shook his head. "No, sorry if I disturbed you. What kind of sword is that?"

The woman stood up, again taller than Link, and held the sword up so he could get a better look at it. "It's a thunderblade, one of the weapons for mages. I prefer my flamespear, but this is fun to use. You ever use any kind of elemental weapon before."

The young man shook his head. "No, I'm more interested in becoming a knight, anyways. I'm Link, and this is my companion, Damien."

Damien nodded rather curtly, still seeming a bit impatient.

"Link and Damien, huh? Well, I'm Midna, part of the mage's guild. I'm just here to watch the knight tryouts, and I'm a pretty good friend of Zelda herself," She glanced to the side, and then back to them before speaking again. "You've talked to Linebeck, right?"

They both nodded.

"Yeah, he's not the nicest character, but his attitude isn't as foul when he's not here, at the castle. The guy's arrogant and a coward but is surprisingly good with a bow. Either way, he's not worth hanging around unless you're good with making friends with the most selfish people. So, the tryouts begin in about an hour, want me to show you two to a good spot to wait?" Not waiting for an answer, she sauntered into the sanctum.

Link followed her, aware that Damien hesitated. The sanctum was rather amazing, sunlight filtering in through the tall windows. Midna glanced around and motioned for them to stand near the perimeter of the room. "There's not much space to properly sit down, so standing around the walls works. I'll talk to Zelda, tell her that you two are here."

Damien leaned against the wall, and Link watched Midna walk up the stairs, up to where a young woman with long, blond hair was looking out the window. Deducting that she was Zelda, Link watched the mage walk up to and talk to the queen, and sat with his back against the wall, waiting for the hour to end.


	3. Weapon Training

The prospect of sitting for an hour made Link rather uncomfortable, so he was grateful when a few more people made their way in. They were all hylian, no one of the three newcomers were any of the other species. Two were female, both talking to each other while glancing around the room. As time went on, Damien walked over to the other male and started a conversation about, from Link heard, battle skills. As ten minutes passed, Midna walked back down and smiled at him. "Zelda said that she's hopeful for all of you, and that she's proud to have more people eager to join the knights guild."

Looking up at the ledge where Zelda was, Link noted that she was now at the railing, watching the people waiting. Her royal guard's uniform with the circlet gave her the look of someone who was tactical and skilled in battle. He'd heard stories that she had learned to fight with sword, shield, and bow, and joined the royal guard even as the princess that they were trained to protect.

Fifty minutes left. Great. Glancing back at Midna, he could see that she still was looking at Zelda. Sighing, he looked around at the other to-be knights and considered talking to some of them. The two girls had ended their conversation, and he considered talking to one of them, but considered waiting a bit longer. Damien was deep in conversation with the other guy, so they were out of the question. Might as well let ten more minutes pass.

He let the hour pass, instead.

Queen Zelda cleared her throat, getting everyone's attention, and smiled down at all of them, waiting as they all stopped what they were doing to line up and look up at her. "Welcome, my friends. I really am glad to see that more people are willing to join the knight's guild. All five of you will train together, after proving that you can get through the training. Before I go over what that is, I'd like to mention that there is, in fact, a chance that you will die during your training. I'm sure you all know that I am Queen Zelda, and this time, I will accompany all of you during your training.

"Right now, though, I wish to test your fighting prowess."

The two members of the royal guard at her side both walked down the stairs and stopped in front of the now official trainees. "Please, follow us."

Walking away after the royal guards with the future knights following, Link managed to see more of the castle as he followed the others. The architecture amazed him, and he imagined what it would've been like to help build such a place. It must've been an honor to help in the castle's construction. Everything, from the bricks to the intricate carvings must have taken ages to put together to create this. He almost ran into the trainee in front of him who had stopped.

One of the royal guard members had turned around, and Link focused on what he was saying. "I know that you are aware that there are three types of fighting styles for knights, all classified by what kind of weapon they use. The both of us are going to test what kind of weapon you can use, and your ability with that weapon. We're heading to the guard's chamber so that you may choose the weapon you've chosen."

He turned back around and walked off again with the other royal guard. Link followed with the others, making sure to pay more attention to where they were going. Walking down the road closer to the entrance, they suddenly took a left turn and walked down stairs into the castle and entered the guard's chamber. The upper portion and the bit connected with stairs were filled with weapons and targets of all sorts. The lower was beds and tables.

Link was lined up with the others, and the female royal guard pointed to the one on the far left, one of the women. "What is your name? You may tell me as you choose your weapon."

The girl, raven-haired with blue eyes nodded and looked around the room, walking over and picking out a soldier's sword. "Right. I'm Rowan... where are the sheilds? I'm only seeing the claymores and swords."

"Then head up the stairs. Spears and shields are up there. Take one of the soldier's sheilds, those are mostly used for training rather than actual fighting in the field."

Rowan nodded, and swiftly made the way up the stairs, picking one of the sheilds, testing its weight and adjusting to it during the few minutes she had before the royal guards called her back down. Gripping the spear in both hands, she sauntered calmly down and stood in front of the two royal guards. The male guard nodded, and walked over, gripping a sword, but not picked up a shield. "Whenever a new knight is tested, we test their skills by using the same weapon. It helps us see how you can do when faced with someone of similar skill. The two of us are naturally talented at all weapons, with the addition of the bow, so we're good sparring partners."

Hefting up the spear, the royal guard paused for a moment. "I forgot. I'm Mark, and this is Sara. I'll begin when you do."

Rowan took a deep breath and lunged at Mark, the spear straight out in front of her, aimed at the guard's chest. Mark jumped to the side and swung the spear horizontally at Rowan, slowing a few inches before it hit her, but she ducked under it. As she regained her footing, she thrusted the spear at the guard, who jumped out of the way.

The fighting went on for only a little while longer, Mark eventually tapping Rowan on the shoulder, announcing himself as the winner and commending her skills. Sara patted her on the back and told her to wait in the other portion of the room and watched her head down the stairs. Link shifted his feet. Those two were not to be underestimated while he fought one. They called up the other male hylian, next to Damien, whose name was Everen. He picked up a spear, and Sara sparred with him. Their fight was shorter than Rowan's, Everen's movements were noticeably out of impulse, and Sara poked him in the side, winning.

"Not bad, but your impulse is taking over your movements. We'll have to smooth that out, but it can be used as an advantage if you know what you're doing. You next!"

Damien walked up, saying his name, and pulled over a soldier's claymore while Mark got his ready, and they began sparring. It lasted the longest so far, and Damien wasn't kidding about his skills. He lost in the long run but was congratulated by both the guards and the trainees.

"You next, what's your name?"

"Oh- I'm Link." He glanced around and picked up a sword, and found a good sword, and stood in front of Sara when done, ready to practice. He jumped into action, swinging at her side, but she moved the shield to stop it. He blocked her attack and strafed to the side, looking for a better angle. Lunging at her, his sword banged against her shield, and he managed to fend her off. Sparks flew as they fought, and Link found that he was a match for the royal guard.

They fought fiercely, the blows becoming rougher as time went on. Link faltered after a bit, and Sara managed to get him on the leg, her strike too rough and drawing blood. "Sorry, sorry! That was amazing, though! Just put the weapons away and sit with the others."

Placing the weapons away, Link watched the last fight, a tall woman named Jan using a spear. She was skilled as well, but she could use some work. Once finished putting away the weapons, Mark and Sara gathered up the trainees. "We're going to be the two keeping tabs on your training, and tomorrow we'll talk to you about how the training will go. You can all sleep here."

The two of them left, leaving the five trainees to look around the room. Most of them gravitated towards a bed and set down in silence. Link glanced at each of the beds and took one near a corner. Silence reigned uncomfortably for until Rowan spoke. "So, you think Zelda's gonna come with us on our training?"

Damien shrugged. "She said she would. Why do you think she will? That's rare. It's an honor, really."

"Do you think it's about the murder attempts?" Link looked around at everyone. "I mean, they've been following her around. I guess she'd be safer traveling around with us."

Everen shifted in a way that could be considered nervous. "D'you think the traps are set by the same person that killed her parents? A thief?"

"How do we know it's a thief? Anyone could have taken a part of their cloaks and planted it after killing them and the guards," Jan muttered, barely audible.

Link visibly flinched at the mention for the two guards, his parents. Everyone saw the pain in his eyes but made no comment. Five years since they died. Those five years helped fix the mess between the thieves and knights, and settled the kingdom, but some people were still broken. Many, and not just the thief's, still harbored a hate against the young queen, even after she voiced her stinging regret for her brash actions.

He himself had gone through those five years learning how to cope without his parents. In his little village, another young man lost his parents, a pair of thieves, and coped with it rather well, focusing even more on his studies to become a merchant. Link recalled that his name was Ravio. Perhaps he'd see him when they take a visit to the merchant's guild during their training. Damien's voice broke into his thoughts. "Well, it's kinda late, and I don't care if we eat anytime soon, because I'm going to sleep. Don t wake me until tomorrow."

With that, he curled up on his bed, and the rest of the trainees all glanced at each other. They decided to resign to silence and ultimately leave each other alone. Link hadn't eaten since that bread he had eaten about two hours later than his normal lunch hour, but he deducted that they'd eat before leaving, and soon fell asleep.

* * *

Woken up by being shaken, Link grunted and pushed away the hands of the person that was shaking him. "Yeah, yeah, I'm up, quit it." Rolling over and openign his eyes, he saw Midna smirking down at him, her orange hair tied back in a ponytail. "Hey, sleepyhead. We're going to get going in an hour, and Zelda wishes that I come with you guys instead of those two royal guards. I told you we're friends."

Link smiled drowsily and climbed out of the bed, noticing that everyone else had already left. "Yeah, I figured that when you just walked right up to her. Did I miss breakfast?"

"Yeah. I stole a boiled egg for you, though. Just, eat it in here while you get ready. The chest at the foot of your bed should have the Zora armor she wants you to wear. It's green for you, I hope that's ok, the Queen chose colors she believed would fit you all. What do you think of learning to use a spear? Once we get to Zora's Domain, you'll be allowed to decide who gets the night and day shift, and you'll also get a few spear-using lessons from Mipha herself. She's nice. Anyways, I'll meet you at the gate!" With that, the mage turned and left the room.

Link stumbled over to the chest and pulled the leaf-colored armor out, running a finger against the smooth, waterproof looking fabric. Putting the armor on and feeling the silver parts protecting his shoulders, Link returned his casual clothing to his bag and left the room quickly, eating the egg on the way down the path. The trees lining the stone path provided some shade against the sun. Just as Midna had said, everyone else was waiting in their own colored Zora armor, and the Queen in her usual royal guard's uniform, the royal set of weapons strapped to her back. "Nice of you to join us, Link," Zelda said, amusement twinkling in her eyes. "You should all get your steeds, and we shall provide horses if you came by foot. Meet me by the town entrance by noon."

They all nodded, and Link rushed through the town to find Maddox. The man taking care of him nodded and asked whether the young man was nervous to become a knight, to which Link nodded, joking that he was worried that he'd be the worst. They both laughed, and he settled into Maddox's saddle, nudging the horse over to the town's entrance. Damien was gently petting the snout of his new bluish-gray horse, murmuring quietly. Zelda was waiting on a majestic white stallion and smiled when he came over.

The others returned soon after, Damien apparently being the only one who needed a new horse. "So, we'll be heading to Zora's Domain, so we'll have to leave our horses at a stable before heading down the main pathway to the domain. Before that, we'll be going through the marshes, so be careful of any lizalfos, though you'll be given your weapons in just a bit, once Midna comes back."

A few minutes passed, and Midna ran over, a bunch of knight's weapons in her arms and on her back, panting. "Y-you could've help! These are heavy! Whatever, just take these."

Link reached down and pulled a shield and sword away from her, the woman looking up and smiling gratefully at him. The shield was heavier than it looked, and he just hooked it onto his back, and studied the sword. It was longer than the soldier's ones and would work better in a fight. Hooking it between his shield and back he watched everyone else looking over and placing their weapons on their backs.

Midna nodded to Zelda once everyone had finished. "I'll just walk, unless I could ride with someone. Zelda?"

The queen laughed quietly and made space so that the mage could be settled on the horse with her. "We'll get going, now, then. Just, follow the path, and we might as well leave our horses before the marsh to keep them safe from lizalfos. There's a stable near the marsh, so you can just leave them there."

With that, she started off, the other future knights following after her, eager to properly begin their training.


	4. The Journey Begins

Zelda led the way, Link following right behind. Maddox seemed to be slightly daunted by the queen's white stallion. The other behind him were talking quietly, but Link had his mind on the attempted assassinations against Zelda. Every time they had happened, news of the event travelled quickly, and Link knew about each one. They had started up about a year ago, on the fifth anniversary of the start of the knight guild's war against the thief guild and were all indirect. There was never any evidence, and Zelda nearly died each time. The most probable suspect could have been literally everyone, with the leads the royal guard had. The thief's guild wasn't even the largest suspect, since the scholar's guild had reacted the most violently to the attack.

Link himself had been following the case rather closely and was glad to now be set on a path to help him guard Zelda. Since Midna was riding on the same horse as Zelda, the queen already had someone presently making sure she'd be safe, considering that the mage had equipped a flamespear she had mentioned when she and Link had first met.

So far, the day had been slow. His new Zora armor was comfy and fit rather well. His new weapons didn't weigh as much as he had first thought, and the young man was grateful of that. Reaching into his pack clipped to his belt, he pulled out an endura carrot and leaned over, reaching out and feeding Maddox the carrot. His horse slowed down slightly but fell back into pace with the others.

When their journey to Zora's Domain had started, Zelda told them that they'd stop at the Wetland Stable for the night and leave their horses there before going through the Lanaryu Wetlands. They would have to keep an eye out for lizalfos and be careful on the deserted lizal camp. They'd be safe once on the first zora bridge.

Link could see the ranch in the distance. He'd only been there once and regretted not visiting again. It was run by three girls, all sisters. The older was Malon, Cremia was the middle, and they both took care of their little sister Romani. While he was there, they let Link meet some of the horses, and they let him keep Maddox after seeing that the horse seemed to like him. It had been a year, and the young knight wondered if they'd stop there.

"Sleeping with your eyes open?"

Midna's voice made him blink in surprise, and Link smiled sheepishly. The mage and glanced over her shoulder at them, and Link assumed he'd been staring into space. "We're making good time and should be at the stable in time to collect some herbs or meat to make something to eat. When we pass the stable, we'll stop for a bit and eat some food we had prepared last night."

Link watched the grass sway in the wind while they continued along the path. The sky was mostly clear, a few fluffy looking clouds drifting near the sun. Sighing, he let his mind wander once more, eventually thinking about food.

Zelda watched the new knights argue about how to split the premade fish and meat plate, trying not to laugh as everyone threw in ideas on how to split it seven ways while Midna just had her head in her hands while Damien seemed to shimmer with anger at everyone's bickering. The stable was in view for them, and she was quietly wished that they'd finish up quickly, so they could keep moving.

The thoughts and memories of the attacks had kept her on edge for weeks since it started, and she found it hard to feel safe. Midna was the only person she could presently feel safe around, but the mage often had to return to her own guild, and when her friend was absent, that was when Zelda's life was in the most danger. Nearly every time she'd been attacked by the mystery assassin, it had been when Midna was not there. Now, with the other knights, she felt a little safer. The five of them intrigued her, and she believed they all had much potential.

They eventually split the food up, and Zelda watched the clouds moving slowly across the sky as she ate. Being queen of Hyrule was fairly stressful, but with five years of experience so far, she felt that she was doing better. With the help of some of her advisors and even Midna, being queen was becoming easier. She was only twenty-six though and felt still too young to rule the kingdom.

Cleaning off her plate once done, she waited until everyone was back on their horses before continuing on. "We only have a little more to go until the stable, as you can see, we'll be spending the night there, and leaving our horses before heading through the marshes, on foot."

For the time until they reached the stable, the only noise was the hooves of their horses on the ground. The large horse head statue on top of every stable made then visible from many meters away. Dismounting and leading her horse to the woman taking care of all of the steeds, Zelda glanced around at the knights. Damien, Everen, and Jan were all watching her, and Zelda could only deduce that they had never been at a stable, while on the contrary, Rowan and Link led their horses over with Zelda, obviously familiar with how stables worked. Link's brown and black horse's wary glances at Zelda's white horse.

She walked into the stable, glancing around at each bed, and paid the stable owner for each of the seven of them without a word. No one really talked to each other while Zelda set up her own bed. Once done with flattening out the blankets, she felt a tap on her shoulder and turned to see Link, his helmet taken off. "I-I just want to talk to you really quick. At the table. Is that ok?"

"Yeah, sure, just give me a moment."

Link sat down at the table on the other side of the stable, visible waiting a little anxiously. Once finished, Zelda sauntered over and sat across from him. Link instantly launched into conversation. "Look, I'm sorry, I don t want to invade on your private life or seem sorta disrespectful or anything, but how are you doing with all of this murder attempt crap all around you? I mean I bet it's really stressful, trying to keep an eye out for traps at all times-"

"Yes, yes, don't worry. It is hard, but I've gotten used to it. Beside the point, you're the first of the knights to openly show concern for my dealing with constant attacks. Link, right? It'd be nice to talk to you about it more. I have the feeling that I can trust you."

Link smiled sheepishly. "Should one of us stay up all night to keep watch? Or do you feel safe enough? Anything you need, your Highness?"

Sighing, Zelda blinked slowly and smiled gently. "It' not necessary. I'm assuming you've never stayed up real late at a stable, because one of them always stays up a whole night. I'll be fine, thanks."

Not waiting too long for a response, she stood up and walked over to her bed. Might as well take off some of the outer layers of her outfit, everyone else seemed to just take off the more uncomfortable parts. She settled under the blanket, but didn t relax instantly, she kept her eyes on the entrances to the stable. The dark sky was visible above the green hills, the stars twinkling ever so slightly. The cold pit of fear in her stomach eventually, as time wore on, warmed up and turned to a feeling of secureness, and with the feeling, came sleep.

She never noticed the dark shape on the distance, watching.

The morning came, and Zelda found herself waking up first. Slipping out of bed, she pulled on the rest of her uniform, and drowsily glanced around. Talking with the stable owner, the queen learned that it was currently six in the morning. They can sleep in for thirty minutes, Zelda thought to herself while checking around the stable for food. Finding a free stash of apples, Midna had woken up by the time she had set up breakfast. The mage sat next to her and was the first to try the buttered apples and approved of the way Zelda made them.

The other knights woke up before six-thirty, although it took a fair bit of shaking to wake Link up. The young trainee yawned and stumbled over to the others, and they all had a silent breakfast. The morning was quiet, and Maddox eyed the buttered apples, and neighed at Link. "No, no, you wouldn't like it, Maddox." He let out a low chuckled when the horse whinnied again, quieter.

Collecting their weapons and gear, everyone got set to continue to Zora's Domain on foot. Link had only met one Zora before, and he didn't even talk to them. He'd seen the blue-scaled fish person traveling with a Rito one day, and they both stopped in his town's inn for a night. Link had head that they were seeing the world together, just two friends deciding to spend time together. He wondered if he'd ever get to travel Hyrule with his own friends. Not that he currently had too many of those, Zelda and Midna seemed to enjoy him, and Damien would be considered his friend.

Zelda took the lead of the group, while Midna took the back, and Link fell into line next to Damien, he and the black-clad knight trainee behind the queen. He and Damien quietly conversed as they walked. "You ever been to the wetlands, Damien? I mean, you've come from Lurelin, but I'm not sure if you've really been here."

"Yeah, I've never been here, hell, I've been advised to never come here, providing that a bunch of lizalfos and even a hinox make their homes here. I've even heard rumors of a wizzrobe prancing around some of the ruins. Do you think we'll have to fight off some of those buggers?"

Link shrugged. "I mean, I'm pretty sure that Midna and Zelda can hold their own, but I'd definitely want to help. There really haven't been too many monsters around, though..."

He let his gaze drift off, lingering around Zelda's feet. When was the last attack against her? There could be another one soon. He turned back to Damien. "I'll keep an eye out for any traps intended for Zelda, you could help, too." His dark-haired friend nodded and glanced around. Link felt a bit tense as he watched Zelda step onto the log bridges between islands. Her step caused the logs to shake, and he watched multiple pebbles fall easily into the shallow water.

His sapphire colored eyes trailed further up the logs, where they shook less- wait. He squinted, and instantly recognized the yellow-green arrow. What was a shock arrow doing so close to the water? If it were to fall in, the dome of electricity reached to at least two meters, shocking and efficiently frying anything in its area of effect. The log it was on, if it shook, the arrow would fall in, thus killing-

Link whispered his findings in Damien's ear, and his heart seemed to skip a beat when Zelda reached that part of the bridge.

"M-My queen! Look out!"

Link lunged forward, catching her by surprise and tackling her to the far island, the shock arrow falling into the water and shocking the bottom of his left foot. The group shouted in surprise and Link awkwardly got off of Zelda, who swiftly got to her feet, staring at the arrow that nearly caused her death. Midna pushed a few of the trainees aside, running to the shocked queen's side. "Zelda! Are you ok? I- Link! I must thank you for saving her..."

Zelda turned to face him, nodding. "Y-yes, thank you, Link. It's a good thing you spotted that, or else..." She trailed off, hugging herself for a moment before regaining her composure. "And I thought I'd be safe. At least Zora's Domain should be safer, whoever is doing this rarely attacks in a way that hurts others."

Link nodded stiffly and glanced further down the path. "Should we keep going?" Everyone nodded soberly, and they continued on their way, Midna remaining at Zelda's side even though the queen insisted that she was fine. The marshes were tame, not lizalfos seemed to notice, and if they had, perhaps the number of people with weaponry may have had intimidated them not to go near. They crossed the deserted lizal camp carefully and stopped at the first Zora bridge. The beautiful blue crossing point captivated Link, and they all stood in front of it for a while.

Maybe Zora's Domain would be safer, with more guards and people. His training would be interesting, considering that Zelda seemed to take an interest in him.


	5. To Zora's Domain

**Alright! So my initial plan of uploading weekly has clearly gone up in flames, so forget that.**

 **Another quick update is that the reason I decided to add Midna and Linebeck as tagged characters is because Midna's reasons is clear, but also because as this fic goes on, Linebeck with become a more consistant and main character.  
**

 **Just wanted to update you on that.**

 **It felt clumsy to write, but enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

The path to Zora's Domain initially seemed cold, but the rain made it worse. The walk was soon hastened to a run, with Zelda shooting arrows at troublesome and hostile Octorocks in the water. Everen was the only one to be hit, and he leaned on Jan until he recovered from the initial shock of the attack. For the rest of the way to the domain, Zelda kept her bow out and an arrow nocked, looking more confident than she did after the shock arrow trap.

They hadn't seen any Zora on the way, and Link assumed simply that may have been told of Zelda coming with the trainees this time and may have been getting ready. Or they were just simply spending more time closer to the domain. Midna eventually strayed from Zelda's side, but still kept an eye on her, clearly protective.

News about people in the castle wasn't as rare as most people would've thought, and Link was aware that Midna wasn't the only one who protected Zelda closely. Before meeting the mage, Zelda only had one just as protective guard, Impa. The white-haired and oddly guild less woman was formidable, and it was ill-advised to mess with her, although the information about her sternness was countered by talk of her friendliness once knowing her and her love for the queen. Zelda had apparently met Midna about three years ago, and the two women often switched places with protecting and offering Zelda companionship.

They'd passed over about three bridges so far, and Link couldn't guess how many other ones were in the path. Link's village was usually a place for travelers going across the field to stop for the night, and that meant that the young man head heard quite a few tales about the domain. It was a large, sparkling blue structure, with a much longer bridge leading to it, and the knight in training hoped he would get a chance to go back to his home occasionally, to tell them of what he'd eventually see around Hyrule.

The walk was near silent, no one having much to say. On each bridge, Link leaned over the railing to look down at the river, watching any fish up near the surface of the water. They passed a small camp, two normal green Lizalfos occupying it jumped in surprise when seeing them. Both had crude spears, and Zelda allowed the trainees to take care of the attackers. Link, Jan, and Damien fought one, while Rowan and Everen took care of the other. They all beat them without much of a problem, and Midna congratulated them all. "I will say, Hyrule will be safer with all of you as graduated knights!"

The trek to Zora's Domain continued, just as uneventful as before. Being on his horse had allowed him to retract his focus of the world around him and focus on his thoughts and aspirations, but walking required more of his attention.

Glancing around a bit, Link drew in an astonished breath as he glanced around, catching a glimpse of Zora's Domain. They were rather close, and Link realized the stories were never exaggerated. The glistening blue structure was magnificent, with a large sculpture of what looked to be a type of fish, a carp, perhaps overlooking the Zora living there, almost like a protector.

The others slowly followed his gaze, and the walk stopped entirely as the new trainees gaped at the glowing home of the Zora. Zelda allowed them to stare for a bit longer before ushering them further along the path. The bushes seemed to resemble coral closer to the domain, and once they got to the long, magnificent bridge, Link had a better view of the structure and land, or water, around it.

Built above the water and around multiple waterfalls, anyone who saw it for the first time would assume that those who lived their loved water quite a bit. Zelda took a deep breath and stiffly stood in front of the group. "Before we enter the domain, I just want to tell you all a few things about how your training will go. You will all be assigned to one of the veteran knights stationed here, and you act a bit like squires, helping them out and doing what they tell you. I hope that you can all be respectful to Mipha, her father, and even her little brother, as they are the royalty of the Zora. The five of you will take over the night shift as well. As our time in the domain comes to a close, we will visit the Merchant's Guild. Understood?"

There was rapid nodding, Link seeming to have the most control over his excitement. Midna stood to the side, glancing at the Domain every few seconds. Zelda sighed and relaxed, and turned to walk down the bridge, Midna close behind with the future knights at her heels.

The two guard Zora waved at the queen, who smiled back at them. Waiting in the middle bit of the lower part of the domain was a young-looking red-scaled Zora woman with some jewelry and royal seeming accessories. Link assumed this was Mipha. She looked younger than he thought, and when she spoke, her voice was soft and gentle. "Welcome to Zora's Domain, knights. It's good to see that your guild continues to expand, Zelda." She curtsied slightly and smiled at the Hylians. "I hope you enjoy your stay here! If you'll excuse me, I have some things to attend to at the moment, so I cannot give you a proper tour of the domain." And with that, she walked quite swiftly past them and up one of the curved staircases.

Damien leaned over to Link and quietly whispered, "She's awfully beautiful, huh?"

Link playfully elbowed him in the side.

Zelda turned back to the trainees and gave them another set of instructions. "Please, take the rest of today to rest, get some food, explore the domain and try to meet the older knights. In the meantime, Midna and I shall help Mipha with her projects." The tall mage smirked at Zelda, and the two of them walked up the same cobalt staircase as the Zora royalty. For a moment, silence reigned, Link feeling a tingle of excitement and a need to explore in his feet, then the small group exploded into conversation.

"This place is beautiful, and the Zora people look so cool!"

"My gosh, we could learn so much here, I think I see some kind of library in that inn!"

"I wonder how their cooking is?"

A few nearby Zora snickered at their sudden childish behavior, and they soon dispersed, Link focusing first and foremost on looking around and getting to know the layout of the place. He checked out the first bit, walking around and learning over the railings, staring down at the water. The supply store had plenty of goods, the young man made a mental reminder to check it out when he had collected a bit more money.

The inn was smaller than he expected, only about seven beds were set up for guests, and Link assumed that there must be at least five veteran knights, and the queen and Midna would take the other two. Perhaps he and the others would get the night shift? But when would they train...?

"Oh, hey, Link. Want to look around with me?"

Link glanced over a Damien and nodded. "Yeah. I've already seen the bottom bit, so let's check out the top."

Together they made their way up the stairs, aware that there might be less than the bottom half. The top has similar space, with a bridge to some cliff like parts that worked as other ways to the domain. Behind the stairs to the king's room, three pools of water in a shape they didn't quick recognized seemed to work as places for some Zora to sleep. Link spotted a few sneaky river snails faintly glowing dimly and walked over and picked one up. Glancing around, the two young knights acknowledged that there wasn't much more to the domain and glanced up at the sky, standing at the railing.

"It's getting late, huh?" Damien glanced over at Link. "When do you think we'll meet the knight's we'll help out. I asked Zelda about it about it a few minutes ago, and she said they'd talk to us when they felt like it."

The blond nodded and sighed. "I think I'll sleep, surely it won't be a problem to get some rest without knowing the sleeping schedule."

He nodded good night to his dark-haired friend and sauntered off to the inn. The beds were rather soft, and he fell asleep rather quickly. He had no dreams.

* * *

Someone shook his shoulder, waking him up. Rolling over he opened his eyes, his vision blurry, and stood up slowly, nearly falling over. "Awake yet?"

Link glanced over and saw the knight who woke him up, wearing similar armor as he was, only differently colored. He was older than Link, with light hair a similar shade to Link's and darker facial hair. "Sorry to wake you up so early, but I'd like you to follow me. I'm named Rusl, I'll be the knight you'll help while here."

Link nodded, still drowsy. "Do I need to bring anything?"

"Not much, just your sword."

"Why did you get me up so early? No one else is up."

"Well, we're each allowed to choose to show you something unrelated to your training, and mine happens at night, around this time."

With that, he walked off, and Link followed quickly, strapping his sword to his back. "Is it important?"

"Not really, I just want to show you something I've noticed. It's... slightly odd, but I'm not the only one who pays attention to it."

Link nodded and followed Rusl as the older man headed towards the right bridge of the domain. Waving at the pinkish Zora guard, he led Link over to a waterfall. Before walking up to the water, he stopped and stared at the sign.

"Um, it says over there is a shortcut to a mountain by that waterfall... it that's were you're taking me, and um... it's a waterfall."

Rusl smiled. "You know that the armor you're wearing allows you to swim up waterfalls, right?"

"I... wait, really? How?"

"Just try to swim up the waterfall. It's hard to describe. You first. Go ahead!"

Hesitant, Link waded through the water and stood under the waterfall, all of the water cascading on his head sending a chill down his spine. He looked up, keeping his eyes shut tightly, and jumped up with his arms up, feeling rather stupid. He thrusted his arms down and, to his surprise, started swimming up the waterfall. At the end, he jumped far up into the air, yet carefully managed to not hurt himself in the fall. He walked up to the next waterfall, and turned to see Rusl, drenched, behind him. "There's about two or three more, just do the same thing."

At the mountain's top, there was thankfully a breeze to dry Link off. He turned and waited for Rusl, and waited for further instructions. "Just give me a moment, ok. In a moment we'll head over to the edge over there, we've got some time. Again, it's slightly weird, but it's also interesting."

Link nodded, and headed to the edge of the cliff, and waited as the knight joined him. "We've still got some time, so, why did you want to become a knight? Why not the other guilds?"

The younger man shrugged. "Well, I mean, both of my parents were knights, but they died at the same night as the late king and queen, so I want to continue their work, and since I heard about Zelda's life in danger, I've aspired to help protect her."

Rusl nodded with a faint smile. "That is an honorable reason, I feel that the others may wish only to be part of a more famous guild, or to learn more about the castle itself. Hang on, look down there, by the water. See that guy? On the horse."

Sure enough, as Link glanced down, he could see a cloaked figure on a bluish horse with an extravagant saddle and bridle riding down the path. Link blinked. "That's- that's a pretty fast horse. Why did you want to show me this?"

"Well, for one, he's riding one of the fastest horses to be found in Hyrule, with is rather impressive on its own. But he does this every three nights, at the same time, to do the same thing. He just rides down with his horse, and he sits at the ruins down that hill and just... stares at the ocean for hours."

Link squinted. "I swear I've seen him before. What guild is he in? Do you know who he is?"

Rusl shrugged. "I haven't gotten too close, but from his cloak, I can tell he's in the thief's guild. The fact that he comes here so often makes it so strange, and the perfect schedule of it makes it sort of impressive."

Link leaned forward and caught a glimpse of red around the thief's neck and instantly recognized him. "Oh! I think I've seen him before, I talked to him at Hyrule Castle, his name's Linebeck. I didn't think I'd see him around here, though. Don t the thieves stay near their general area?"

The older knight shrugged. "I'm not sure, I've heard of him more than other thieves, he seems to be more of a loner and wanderer despite his reputation in the guild as a skilled archer and simply as a thief. But yeah, he does this every three days, but will occasionally miss six days. It's odd, though I've noticed that if any monsters are near, he'll take his time to stay far away from them."

Leaning back, the trainee laid on his back and stared up at the stars. A few minutes passed, and Rusl stood up. "I'll leave you here, just come back to the domain before six. Today I just want you to help guard the east bride with the Zora we passed."

Link nodded and began the losing battle of counting stars as the sun rose on his first official day as a knight trainee.


	6. Lynel Stories and Spear Training

**Ah, this took longer than I expected to write.**

 **I'm feeling like the chapters until characters from other guilds show up will be a bit awkward.**

 **Oh well, here's chapter six!**

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Link returned to the domain in time for breakfast, and managed to get a sizable omelet for himself, thanking Rowan in a near-overzealous way for cooking them, and stationed himself at the east bridge with the guard named Gaddison. Link waved to her and checked that his sword and shield were secure on his back. The Zora took one side of the bridge while Link at the other. Glancing a few times at the pale pink Zora, he sighed. "Do you kinda just... sit here? I mean I'd assume it would get a little boring as time goes on."

Gaddison shrugged. "Well, I enjoy it. We could always talk, if you want to do something. We're just not allowed to leave this spot, only for meals and shift changes. Anything you want to talk about? I mean it's clear you haven't been here before."

Link shrugged, then remembered the sign from last night. "What's Polymus Mountain like? I didn't see much up there that looked like a mountain."

She shrugged and pointed to a large, upward slanting rock formation high above the east water reservoir. "That's the mountain. Some daring Zora go up there and dive into the reservoir, but it's become forbidden to go up there for our safety. I presume that's what Lady Mipha and the queen were discussing, sir."

Link nodded, tilting his head back to look up at the mountain. "Why is it off limits? Has the land become unstable, or are there monsters?"

Gaddison nodded morosely. "Yeah, actually, a red lynel recently made its home up there, and shoots anyone with shock arrows if they get close. Zoras are sensitive to shocks, by the way. If we were to get rid of it, we'd need a Hylain, a different race, but most people are too scared, and most of the time, it takes a group of people to fight one off, or even kill it."

From what the young knight had heard, a dead lynel was rare. The beasts were vicious, and the smartest monsters in all of Hyrule. Their weapons depended on the color or their coat, and were all dangerous, but lasted long and did a sizable amount of damage. One known guild to take on any of these beasts were simply the knights guild, protecting innocents and keeping them regulated. The other guild known for it was the thieves' guild, for collecting their weapons, practice, and for their materials.

A more recent and famous battle was with the mage's guild. The knight's guild's lynel battles happened more often and were held as more heroic. However, Link was aware that mages fighting lynels were considered rare.

Link could clearly understand why the Zora were now scared to go up to the mountain. "What if someone were to get rid of it? Have any guilds offered?"

"Not too many. The merchants are constantly busy, the scholars are not known for fighting. The mages usually keep to themselves but will help if the queen gets involved. We don't trust the thief guild, and the knights haven't offered. Perhaps someone else may offer, but until then, we can't go up to the mountain."

Link glanced over at the Zora, taking a moment to make sure he didn't sound cocky or arrogant. "I could help with that; I could see I anyone I know can help me fight it off. Most people think my swordsmanship is pretty impressive, and with another person I think we'd do well."

Gaddison beamed and nodded. "Yeah, that'd be amazing! I mean, if you could do it. I'm not too sure, to be honest, since it usually takes large groups. It's only a red lynel, but still. No offense, but you're only still training, and the two most recent cases of lynel fights both nearly ended up in casualties."

"Really?" Link blinked. Large groups and they still almost had casualties? He had to admit, lynels were impressive beasts. "Can you tell me about them?"

She nodded, glancing around at the area connected to the bridge. Only but a fox was there, and it was just sniffing around the ground. "Well, the first one was about four years ago, with a group of about five thieves. Four of them were experienced, and one was a newer thief, they had only been in the guild for about a year at the time."

"They brought a newcomer?"

"Yeah, I heard the story was that they were looking for new weapons, and he asked to come along, wanting the lynel bow. So, they let him come. He's a bow user, last time I checked. Can't remember their name. But anyways, they found a silver, yes, silver lynel."

Silver? Link reached up and pulled off his helmet, sitting down. "Silver? Really? That's suicide!"

Gaddison shrugged. "They did it anyways. They headed to the gate to Lanayru mountain- you know, the snowy mountain with the Spring of Wisdom. They stationed the newer farther away, with his bow and plenty of arrows while they fought the lynel. From the stories, they fought for a long time, each of the four main fighters getting injured while the younger shot at the monster from afar. Though, as the lynel was severely weakened, I heard it turned and saw the archer, and started to attack the poor guy.

"He apparently made an attempt to run, to scared to turn his back om the beast. The others tried to catch the lynel's attention again, but I heard the monster successfully attacked the newer thief. It was a bad wound, too. A gash right across the chest, cut open by the savage sword of the lynels."

Any lynel swords were deadly, but the savage tier of their weapons were considered among the most powerful weapons in all Hyrule, topped only by the legendary Master Sword. "And he survived?!"

"Yeah, they got him back to the guild town quick enough; They killed the lynel after he got hurt. Apparently, he was given the savage lynel bow. I think he's the only thief at the moment with that kind of bow; just owning it is a feat. It's hard to pull back the strings on those."

The Zora's head-tail started to whip back and forth, as if she was excited. "Well, I'll tell you about the other one. You should have heard a little about it, considering that mages don't normally battle lynels. It was a group of six mages this time, and they were told of a, yet again, silver lynel. The six mages chosen were all veterans, they have different training methods than the thieves, choosing study over experience. They had been led by a rather strong and skilled woman of the guild, you should know her. She came here with you."

For some unknown reason, it took Link a few moments to remember that the mage had come with them. "Wait, Midna helped fight off a silver lynel? I mean, I'd heard she was a good fighter before, but this is just amazing."

"Well, there were less thieves in the first fight and they killed it, but she did lead the one with the mages, doing the most in the fight. She used the same flamespear as she still has now. The fight was exhausting, from what I heard, and they all used different spear types, using the speed and range to their advantage. You may not know, but any kind of elemental aspect of a weapon doesn't work on lynels, but the mages still used elemental spears in case of any other enemies coming close. Their battle was just as tough, and one of the younger mages got hit by the monster's claymore-like weapon. From the rumors, that mage had six of their ribs broken, they thankfully were wearing protective armor covering the spot."

Link stopped rubbing his finger up and down his sword blade. "Seriously? Didn't you say no one died, though? How did they get them back in time to help?"

Gaddison smiled. "It was a bit like the other fight, they were nearly finished fighting, the remarkable Midna dealing the last blow. They apparently used the lynel parts for upgrades and modifications and ended up just giving the weapons away. So, you still think you can take on a lynel?"

Quickly standing back up, his eagerness to help the Zoras not dampened in the least, he announced, "Well, of course! Red lynels aren't as powerful, right? I said I could get help from a friend and get rid of it! If you guys would allow me, of course."

A moment passed, and the Zora laughed. "Of course, sir. I'd have to tell Mipha and Zelda, but it's up to them in the long run. Hate for you to die."

Link nodded gladly and got back into his guarding position with the female Zora. They stood there for another hour before their break time at noon, eating a rather small lunch still at the bridge. He remained at the bridge for some time, until Rusl came over and pulled him aside with Damian so they could participate in spear training with Mipha. It was simpler than he thought beforehand. Mipha took them through it slowly, starting with holding the spear right. Link dealt with the pace normally, but Damian seemed to be quietly seething. Mipha's calm voice kept him from boiling over while she helped him space his hands correctly.

She taught them a simple thrusting attack. The Zora princess told the two young knights it would be good for range. "If you were fighting a rather dangerous and strong enemy, a spear would be a good companion for the time. The range and speed allow you to keep those kinds of monsters at bay. Sure, the claymore and sword are both more powerful, but the spear gives you speed and range. It's also good as a thrown weapon."

The training ended with her allowing them to try maneuvering around with the practice spears. Once finished, Mipha took their spears. "Thanks for allowing me to teach you. I always enjoy getting to help new knights. It's about six in the afternoon now, you can take the rest of the day off. I won't continue the spear training if you don't want to."

She turned and walked off with the spears, and the Link turned to Damian. "Should we see if there's any dinner? I'm a bit hungry."

"You know, I've known you only for a few days, but you seem to always jump at a chance to get food."

Link smiled at him and walked off. "I'll see you by the cooking pot if you want. I might end up having to cook it, and I've had a bit of practice."

Damian laughed and followed him, removing his Zora helm, running his fingers through his hair. "I'll help, then. I'm pretty hungry."

The both of them huddled in front of the cooking pot, staring at the shelved ingredients. There was a large selection of seafood, from salmon to crabs, porgies to snails. Link stood up and found a few bundles of hylian herbs on the top shelf. Taking two, he nodded down at the fish. "How about you choose two of those, and we'll go from there."

Link reach over and took a matchbox, lighting a match while the dark-haired trainee picked out ingredients. The wood under the pot caught flame, and Damian showed the fish he picked out, all the same type. The golden-haired young man set the herbs in the pot, muttering to himself, "It's weird how these pots are like magic, you kinda just set the prepared ingredients in and let it cook and then it's made easier to actually prepare it. Could you make sure the stuff cooks while I look for plates?"

Damian nodded, setting fish in the pot and letting it cook while Link searched for cutlery. He recalled what it looked like from earlier times and soon found it, asking the innkeeper about them. Bringing it back, they split the finished and prepared food and ate, sitting at a railing. Link shoveled his cut up steamed fish, and slowly noticed Damian silently simply staring down at the water.

"You ok? You haven't touched your food."

The black-haired man started and glanced over with a weak smile. "I'm fine. Just didn't get as much sleep as I wanted last night. I also feel a bit bad for being rather short-tempered with Mipha."

Link grinned slightly. "It wasn't that bad. She seemed very patient with you, anyways. You don't need to feel that bad. Besides, you were pretty good with the spear. Defiantly excelled faster than I did!"

Damian sighed. "But I still feel like I was being a damn jerk to her. But... you did make me feel better about it."

Link shifted closer to him, reaching over and nudging his fork hand. "You should eat. It's pretty good! You chose some good fish."

His smile widening, Damian took a bite of the fish and nodded. "Yeah, this is pretty good. The herbs go well with the fish. You did well prepare with the fish. That... sounded awkward."

Setting his empty plate down on the floor, Link leaned on the railing. "You know, it gets a bit humid after some time. I never really noticed until I took my helmet off. I guess it represses the humidity while you wear it."

"Yeah, you're right; I get used to it though, considering I came from Lurelin. It gets so humid there, this really isn't much compared to living in heat, next to the sea. I'm probably going to head to bed earlier. Besides, did you get Rusl as your knight? He mentioned you while setting me in my station. Apparently, there's only three true knights here, so he's one of the two that deal with two of us. I'm heading to bed soon. It's nice to spend time with you."

Damian went quiet and rested his head against Link's shoulder. They sat like this until Link spoke again.

"Almost makes the fact that I almost ran you over seem nice! I probably would have passed you entirely otherwise. But I bet we still would've met!"

Damian laughed, then got up and walked off to the inn. Link sat at the railing for a few moments later, then collected the plates and put them away. The sky darkened since he left the spear training, and the beds looked rather tempting. Stifling a yawn, the aspiring knight headed off to a bed, removing most of his armor before drifting slowly into sleep.

His only dreams were that of becoming a great knight, he and Damian helping safeguard Hyrule.

* * *

 **Those lynels... anyways!  
** **I'm hoping I can get the next chapter out more quickly, since it's much better planned.**


	7. Bunny-Eared Merchant

**Well, this turned out to be longer than I expected.**

 **Hope you guys enjoy!**

* * *

"Well then, today we shall visit the merchant's guild, their guild home being Lurelin Village."

Zelda glanced over at Damian with a smile. "So then, some of you will technically be going home. Before you get ready to make a long journey, I'd like to show you something."

With the knights watching, circled around the queen in the inn, she reached into her pack and pulled out a rectangular object. Link's sapphire eyes widened at the sight of it. The back had a faintly familiar eye shape on it. He could've sworn he'd seen it before, the thought almost seemed to be whispering in his ear, too quiet for him to make out proper words. Turning the slate over, Zelda showed a shiny black surface on the other side. "This is a Sheikah slate. I'm not too sure if any of you are familiar with the Sheikah, since they are mostly in secret, but this is an item created by them many years ago."

The trainees had been in the beautiful domain for about three weeks, each day filled with guarding, different training types, and socialization with the other knight trainees. They had helped defend the domain from a small band of bold moblins. In addition to the normal guarding duty, each of their mentor knights had one-on-one training to keep everyone's fighting skills honed. Link had kept tabs on the lynel issue by asking Zelda, Midna, and Mipha about it, and Gaddison gave him daily updates on the situation. Now, Link simply was listening to the Queen in the middle of the domain, with the other trainees.

Zelda touched the black part, and the material lit up, Rowan and Everen noticeably gasping, a few of them stepping back. Midna laughed rather conspicuously.

"Magic? Is it magic?" Jan asked next to Link, pushing dirty blonde hair out of her face while Zelda eagerly answered. "There is a bit of magic involved yes, but it's mostly Sheikah tech. If you look at the screen now, it should show a map of Hyrule."

Everyone inched closer, Link shoving slightly past the taller Everen while he inspected the map. It did show the continent, highlighting villages and notable nature, showing river paths and lakes. He fought the urge to reach out and touch it before Zelda spoke again. "I've used a few times to make sure we were on course on the way here, but it's more than a map. I've tested it and it can make true-to-life pictures, a way of documenting things. I'm sure there are more functions to learn about, but I have no need for it."

Damian glanced up and then asked, "Ok, this is pretty cool, but what does this have to do with heading to the merchant's guild?"

The queen pulled the slate closer to her and smiled in an almost mischievous way. She then held it up and pointed to a little glowing spot. "See this? This is that shrine in the room here at Zora's domain."

Link glanced over his shoulder at the small structure. He'd always wondered what it is, confused that he couldn't get in. A few days ago, fed up with how it seemed to be teasing them by not opening, each trainee took turns trying to get it open. It usually resulted in each of them trying to kick, or in Rowan's case, punch the door in.

"Well, I had always been confused about why they were there. I even asked Impa, who is of Sheikah descent, about them, and she simply shrugged. So, when I tapped it, and appeared here, I realized it had sent me here within a moment."

Zelda let a moment for that to sink in for the trainees. She then stepped back as a reaction to everyone talking all at once.

"That's not possible!"

"Magic! It's magic! Only magic, how the hell can tech do that?!"

"Show me. Wait, no. LET ME TRY!"

"Do you ever get scared that you'll get lost after using it?"

"How does it work?"

The queen sighed, waiting for the shouting to stop. Link quieted first, examining the slate from where he was. Once silence was restored, she explained, "Ok, so, there are shines in each village, mostly only more major villages. They are somehow linked up to this slate, and allow me, and anyone else touching the slate, to be transported there within a matter of seconds."

"So... we're just gonna use this to go to Lurelin, as opposed to horses?"

"Yes," Zelda nodded, a pleasant smile on her face, "But if you wish to bring any money or items to sell while we're there I recommend that you get packed soon. We'll go there in about ten minutes, so that's how much time you have."

She slid the slate back into its holder on her belt, and promptly dismissed them. The trainees rushed off to gather things they had collected over their time at the domain. Reaching for his pack, he watched Damien simply put a bokoblin tooth in his pack.

"Why only that?"

Damien jumped at his sudden question and glanced away. "I'm collecting monster parts as little memoirs. Little, reminders of what I've done to become a knight. The tooth is from a black bokoblin with the gall to attack me and the zora guard. I want to get at least one thing from each area. When done, they'll be strung up into a necklace."

He closed his bag as Link stuffed his sword into his pack with a few amber chunks. "I... don't think there'll be too many monsters to fight in the merchant's guild. I've heard that a good number of them are self-taught to fight off monsters."

Link beamed at his friend and simply answered, "I want to find some sparring partners while we're there. Practice is always good, plus I want to meet new people from different guilds."

Satisfied with the answer given, Damien eyed Link while he closed his bag. "...You heard of the lynel problem?"

Link nodded vigorously. "Yeah, I've asked to help about it. I'll be allowed to fight it off if I can get someone else to help me with it." He looked up and turned his enthusiastic gaze on Damien. "Would you like to help me?"

Silence, then a cold answer. "No."

"Why not?!"

"I want to focus on being a knight, not a hero. We don't need a hero right now; the closest thing is people looking into the attacks on Zelda."

Link felt his hopes be crushed by those words. "Besides, how much of a problem is it really? No one had really died." The next set took the remains and melted his hopes. "W-what? But... I want to be able to fight by your side..."

"You can ask someone else. Just not me." He picked his pack up and strode back to wait with Zelda and Midna. Link sighed, then felt a shock in his mind before realizing he had another option. It'd be good to see his friend again, and he was going to anyways, since they were headed to the village housing the merchant's guild anyways. Slinging the bag over his shoulder, he sauntered out with the others.

Zelda held out the slate, asking for them the place their hands on it, and searched for the correct shrine. When they were transported there, the sudden change in the ground under his feet and difference in temperature surprised him the most, but when Link opened his eyes, he could see the ocean and the village on its beach.

* * *

Ravio shoved through the crowd, Sheerow perched tightly on his shoulder. Where was his stand again, come on... there! Reaching up and making sure his purple hood stayed on his head, he stopped behind his small stand and crouched down under the desk. He felt the bunny ears on the hood for any damages and reached into his bag for the items. Why was it when every time the village celebrates its monthly market, Ravio was caught so off-guard?

Frantically pulling out the magic rods, he lined them up on the table, sorted by type and tier. He had always been a fan of the magic rods, even using a meteor rod as his weapon. Besides, they sold rather well, and made him a fair bit of money. He generally priced each one at around 100 to 150 rupees, about five sales per month would help him pay off rent.

Smoothing down his tunic and glancing briefly at his little bird friend, he glanced up at the village's resident shrine. A group of people seemed to be talking up there, each with a pack in what looked to be zora armor. He saw a rather tall woman and shifted his gaze a bit further. Then he rather audibly gasped when he caught a glimpse of Queen Zelda. What was she doing here? Was that a group of future knights? That would explain why the head of the royal guard and graceful leader of Hyrule was in Lurelin village.

Glancing down, the black-haired hylian took a deep breath and looked up to see a Gerudo woman looking at his stock. Ravio smiled, and asked, "See anything you like? The normal rods-" He gestured to the ones on her right, "are worth 100 rupees. The higher tier rods will be 150 if you wish to buy." He maintained his pleasant smile while she lingered. His emerald eyes started to burn before he realized he had forgotten to blink.

She shook her head and walked off, bidding him a polite farewell with a gentle 'sav'orq!' and left him alone at his stand. No sale was a tad bit disappointing, but Sheerow let out what seemed to be a reply chirp that refreshed his nervous enthusiasm. Glancing up at the shrine again, the group with the queen was heading down to the village. There to learn more about the merchant's guild, no doubt. Besides, his friend Link might be with them! He'd always wanted to be a knight, anyway.

No one else reached his stand for a few long minutes, then he saw two of the knights weaving through the crowd, talking. From what Ravio knew about knight training, they were probably told a bit about merchant training, how they had to research about different products, then choose said product and try to sell it successfully.

The taller knight had black hair, while the shorter had a more golden color. Suddenly recognizing the shorter knight, Ravio began waving frantically while Sheerow let out tiny chirps. "Link! Link! Over here! It's me! Ravio!"

It took a few shouts, but Link eventually noticed him, running over to him and leaving his friend behind him. He ran up to the stand, and Sheerow tweeted happily. Ravio glanced over Link's shoulder and watching his bemused friend shuffle over. "How've you been? How long's it been?"

Ravio laughed, reaching up and shifting his scarf in a nervous way. "Maybe it's been about a year, maybe more... I've been good. Sheerow is still here. Who's your friend?"

"Oh, this is Damien. Knight training has been good."

Ravio smiled and nudged a magic rod. "Want one? Lower tier is 100, higher is 150. What's training like? I think you're the only guild that actively learns about other guilds."

Link simply shrugged, ignoring how Damien picked up one of the ice rods, facing away from them both and waving it around.

"I, uh, Damien, please put that back."

Link tapped his shoulder and spoke while Damien carefully slid the weapon back on the table. "So... we have to go to each of the four non-hylian villages and guard it for... some amount of time, I'm assuming near a month. When done I think we just choose to guard the castle or one of the villages. Most stay in the castle, only a few are even allowed in the others due to them being smaller. Like, for example, the castle itself is about a third bigger than zora's domain, and by guarding the castle you also guard the castle town. I've heard that Gerudo town is the biggest, Rito village being the smallest."

Ravio laughed, and in response to Link's innocent confusion, remarked, "Honestly, that's the most I've heard you say."

"I- really? Well, I have a question for you."

"Really? Yeah, sure, what is it?"

The knight trainee hesitated for a moment, averting his eyes, then spoke, a little quieter. "Um... what do you know about red lynels?"

"That they're scary, and yet their parts sell for quite a bit... why do you ask?"

"Would you be willing to help me fight off a red lynel? They're the weakest kind of lynel, and I'll do a lot of it considering I have the more powerful weapon, plus if you help you can be known for helping the zora with me."

He said this all quickly, and it took the black-haired merchant a moment to process it. "I- a lynel?! Seriously? I mean... the red ones are the weakest, but... I... are you really that brave? Brave enough to face off against a lynel? You've always been brave, but I mean this is a bit much."

Link seemed to deflate slightly, glancing over at the nearby ocean before leaning on the stand. "So... is that a no?"

"No, no, I didn't say that. Sure, I'll help. I'm scared, yeah, but I'll help a friend out."

Smirking and chuckling slightly, Link looked up at passing seagulls. "You were more of a scaredy-cat when I knew you a year ago. Did the guild change you?"

Damien reached again for the rod, glaring at the merchant when Ravio slapped his hand away. "Yeah, we do go through a little bit of what they call 'fear training', where they ask about our fears and work on at least chipping away a small bit of them."

"So, you'll help me!"

"Defiantly. Um... do you need to ask Zelda if I can go with you?"

"Yeah, I'll do that, you wait here."

With that, Link turned and walked off at a brisk pace, leaving Damien and Ravio alone to talk. "...So, uh, what kind of weapon do you use? I generally use one of the meteor rods, but I assume you guys up in the knight's guild don't really dabble in magic."

The knight shook his head. "Nah, just claymores, spears, and sword-shield combos like what Link uses. I'm more accustomed to claymores, but Mipha's been tutoring us on the basics of spears."

"Mipha's the zora princess right...?"

No more conversation occurred while the two young men waited. After a while, Ravio simply just focused on the sounds of the ocean. No one came over to his stand to buy while he waited for Link to return with the Queen.

It took a bit longer than what he had expected, but Link returned with Zelda and Midna. "So, you're Ravio, right?" Zelda asked.

"Y-yes milady. Should I bow or any sort of formality?"

"No, there's no need. Link's told me you're willing to aid him in the fight with the lynel?"

"Yeah, he asked me and- yeah I'll help him."

He stepped out from behind the stand, Sheerow shifting on his shoulder and poking his little talons into his shoulder. "Do I need to come with you guys at the end of the day or something? Just wondering when we'll actually fight the thing."

Midna smirked, reaching over and running her finger against one of the rods' handles. "It's really up to Link, here. He's been put in charge of the situation, well, the part concerning when you'll fight. Providing from how eager he is the help," A near smug gleam entered her eyes, "You might fight the beast after lunch tomorrow, no proper preparation initiated."

A glimmer of worry wormed its way into Ravio's mind, and he shuffled his feet. "Well, I mean, I can wait a few days to prepare myself..."

Midna suddenly let out a loud laugh, finding time between bouts to get out, "Getting cold feet huh? Didn't think a friend of brave little Link's to be as nervous..." She calmed down and Link stepped up, grabbing Ravios wrist and looking up into his eyes. "You can do it, there's no need to be so scared. I believe in you anyways. Besides, we're gonna leave in a bit, and I'll honestly try to fight it on my own soon enough. So, please, come with us now. Besides, the domain is beautiful, you'd love to see it."

Feeling Sheerow nudge the side of his head with his beak, Ravio nodded nervously. "I- of course I'll help you. Are you guys going right now? It seems you've been here long enough." Link let go of his wrist, smiling, and nodded. "Yeah, we're about done. You can wait with me and Damien until Zelda and Midna rounds everyone up."

He sped off to the goddess statue, Ravio following suit with the two women disappearing into the crowd, most likely to search for the rest of the knights. On his knees, hands clasped together in front of his face, Link quietly whispered a prayer with Ravio silently watching. When finished, he stood up and headed down to the water. Ravio at down in the sand next to him, keeping his feet away from the water. "What did you pray for?"

"I asked for safety for when we face the lynel. You never know what can happen. There's stories of professionals taking down the silver kind in groups, " Taking in the trainee's answer, the merchant started tracing circles in the sand. Feeling a slight bit of anxiety about the coming fight, he turned to face Link one again. "Have you faced anything that could be considered as a notable threat? Like, more powerful than your average bokoblin or lizalfos?"

Link shrugged, rubbing his arm. "The most powerful thing I've dealt with was a black moblin, but Damian helped me with that." He glanced over at Damian by his side, Ravio not noticing him before. Then, the optimistic knight's face lit up. "But hey! Your meteor rod can do a fair bit, and we both have decent armor and time to prepare. I've heard it uses a sword and shield with a bow. Maybe I can be the most offensive and attack when I get the chance, while you keep an eye out for me and attack when you want to."

They sat in silence for a bit, listening to the waves against the beach, until Ravio quietly muttered, "I honestly hope the queen doesn't think the ears on my hood look stupid."

Link laughed heartily, reaching up and playing with them. "They make you easier to identify, plus I've heard people call you the 'bunny-eared merchant', so it makes you easier to find if they don't know your name!"

Someone reached over and tapped Link on the shoulder, and the two knights and the merchant all turned to see Zelda with the rest of the group. "We're ready to go, just meet us at the shrine in about two minutes." With a sweet smile, she turned and headed towards the shrine, the rest of the knights following suit. Midna stayed back, watching them for a moment longer before following the queen. Link stood up, brushing sand off his behind. Helping Damian up, and Link nodded towards Ravio while he got up. "I think you should leave Sheerow here, for his safety. Where do you live?"

Ravio pointed further down the line of houses. "Mine's one of the smaller ones, it's one of the ones at the water. I'll show you if you follow me." He ran off, staying near the water and not paying attention to whether or not they were following. A few of the small cabins passed him before he stopped at his own smaller living space. His was one of the only ones with a tarp or cloth covering the doorway. Before walking in, he turned to see Link jogging after him, Damian at his side. Ravio pushed the tarp aside and walked in.

It was a small room, with a small table and bed, a stick protruding at the end for Sheerow to perch on and a plate of seeds. He kicked the sack of rupees further into a corner and bent down in from of the stick. Sheerow hopped from his shoulder on to the little perch.

"Small house. It's cute!"

Ravio smiled at the little bird, who chirped up at him, and turned back to the others. "Ok, I'm ready. You lead the way."

Smirking, Link turned around without looking back, said, "Well, you should probably run with us, it's pretty far until the shrine. Not too far, but we should run to make it in time." He and Damian headed out the door, and Ravio followed, getting caught a bit off guard when they ran off. Sprinting after the knights, weaving haphazardly through the crowd. He almost shoved a rito over, and with a quick and genuine 'sorry!' he kept running after the others until he made his way out of the crowd.

Link and Damian's pace slowed while they jogged up the steep hill that marked the way from and to the village. Ravio continued following suit and stopped until Link clambered up a rocky hill onto the rest of a path. Damian let him go next, and he silently prepared himself beforehand. The rocks cut into his hands, but he managed to get to the top without any cuts. He helped Damian up, and Link led them stealthily around a bokoblin camp and straight to the shrine.

Link and Damian ran over to the group and placed their hand on the sheikah slate with the others. Ravio hesitated before walking up and doing the same. He got no weird looks, so he assumed Zelda explained his presence. The queen tapped the shrine icon on the map, and Ravio felt a strange tingling sensation, then Zora's domain appeared around him. He stumbled back, confused, and Link laughed. "I guess I should have told you about the whole thing with the slate. Well, you're here now. What do you think?"


	8. First Test of Courage

**Chapter 8! I'm proud of this one even if it has a few issues.**

 **Whatever, I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

It started to rain early that day. Link was leaning against the railing when he felt the drops on his head and quickly put on his helmet to keep his hair dry. Still early in the morning, he suspected that his worry about the lynel fight got him up early. Ravio was still sleeping, as were the other trainees. A few zora guards were out and about, but other than that, the only ones awake were Zelda and Midna. Link was unsure if any of the zora royalty was up.

Feeling slightly restless, Link headed off to his normal guard spot. He passed by Gaddison, waving at her cheerfully. He passed quickly and ran up the stairs along the waterfall. Reaching the platform at the reservoir lake, Link reached up and drew his sword. He held it out in front of him, watching the trembling tip. After a moment, he sprang into action, swinging the sword in attack patterns he knew of, sparring with an imaginary enemy. Swapping between defense and offense, one hand and two, he eventually pulled his shield off his back and began more patterns in that way.

After a few minutes, Link got well absorbed in his practicing. Swiping and thrusting his blade at the many enemies his mind conjured up, bringing up his shield to block non-existent axes and spears. He ended up spinning around to parry a fake strike and almost fell over. Zelda, sitting and watching him, surprised him to the point of when he noticed, he slipped. The queen stifled a laugh, and the trainee felt his face start to get rather hot. "I-I didn t see you! When'd you get here?"

Zelda smiled and sat back. "You're impressive. Seriously, I'd enjoy sparring with you. I've seen you come here a few times, and with this being my first time really seeing, I decided bringing my own equipment would be interesting."

Link stood up clumsily, wiping off his clothing. 'Do you want to spar? I'd hardly doubt that I'd be good enough to stand up to you. I've heard that you're rather amazing, the best in the royal guard. Though... milady, it's up to you as queen. He smiled sheepishly."

The head of the royal guard stood up, drawing her sword and gripping the shield. Her weapons were drastically different than that of Link's, more extravagantly designed, and more effective. She would definitely be a good challenge for experience if he wished to be a great knight. Pointing the sword tip at his chest, she smiled in a rather cocky way. "How about we talk while we spar as well? I can tell you have questions." And with that she lunged at him, and the battle began.

Deflecting her first attack and dodging the next, he began the questions. "How-how many other guilds have non-hylians in them?" Zelda swung at him yet again, her sword being neatly blocked by his shield. "All but the knight's, really. The scholar's guild is the most popular, but yes, the others have a few of the rito, gerudo, zora, and most rarely, goron." She initially swung at his shoulder, then switched to his thigh before he deftly knocked her blade away with his own.

"My turn!" Zelda ducked away from another of the young man's attacks." Are you aware of the stories? Of the three named Zelda, Link, and Ganondorf, of the battle around the Triforce?"

Link parried one of her strikes. "Of course! My parents were fond of the legend, and they named me after the hero! And of course, you're Zelda, the name's passed down in royalty." The queen smirked at him and continued to talk as they fought. "Well, it's more than a legend right now. There's currently a gerudo Ganondorf in the thief guild, only around the age of twenty but is known for being a good fighter. I have a very faint mark of the triforce on my right hand, and you're an exceptional swordsman, like the legend's hero. I should really be worried, but I m thinking it's a coincidence."

Starting to pant slightly, Link advanced a bit towards Zelda, fighting more aggressively. "That's odd, really. But, another question. Do you have any sort of leads on who's trying to kill you? You'd think, after a year, you'd have some kind of lead." Zelda's mood seemed to shift and her fighting style became more difficult to match. "That's the thing. There's been nothing to base a lead on. There's never any evidence left behind. The closest we've come was when a group of mercenaries attacked me. When we interrogated them, they claimed, and rather honest-sounding, that they both had no idea that I was the target or who hired them. It could quite literally be anyone."

Link took a large step back for a moment before launching back into the fight. "But what about motive? Some people must want you dead more than others."

"Also, another problem. People can want me dead for a slew of reasons. To take my throne, out of hate, as a test of their skill. Literally anyone." The fight continued for a time longer, until Link glanced up and saw something gleaming on one of the cliffs. His eyes widened as the object was flung from the cliff, and when he recognized the object, and pushed Zelda away. "MOVE!"

She stumbled back with a surprised scream, Link almost toppling over her. He whipped around at the sound of the loud thunk of metal against metal. The spear tip was imbedded at least an inch in the ground, where Zelda was only moments before. Link looked back up at the cliff it was thrown from and looked back at Zelda. "A-a zora spear? Who threw that? So... so accurate..."

Link carefully walked up to the silver weapon. Wow. Whoever threw this is pretty strong. But you d need to be great at throwing spears.

"Y-yeah... Thanks about that. I'd probably be dead if you hadn't seen that... You're a pretty damn strong fighter."

"Same to you... are you ok?"

Zelda shrugged. "I'm fine. Though I should go get Ravio for you. I'll be safer at the domain, with Midna and with everyone else." She shakily sheathed her sword but kept out her shield. While she walked off, Link inspected the spear again. "Hey, you should take this back to them and tell them what happened. Maybe they can check for fingerprints or something. It's clear that the attacker is gone now. They clearly would have left, seeing that you re alive."

He tugged it out of the ground and handed it to her. "I-I can wait here for Ravio." Taking the spear, the queen smiled weakly and walked off. Link put his equipment away, looking around at the platform. He and Zelda had fought up the long strip, whereas they started near the bed and vases. Link walked back over to the wider bit. Settling down on the bed, he looked around the reservoir and waited.

It took a few minutes, but Ravio jogged up the stairs, running up to Link. Along with his meteor rod, the merchant had a silver shield on his back; most likely lent to him by the zora. Link stood up as his friend approached and smiled nervously. "Do you think we re ready? I've just sparred with Zelda. What about you?"

Ravio shrugged, glancing down at his feet."I don't know. I'm pretty anxious about the whole thing..." He paused for a long moment then met Link's eyes, his emerald eyes filled with a newfound determination. "But now I believe I can be brave enough to help you aid the zora! And if we die trying, then, it should be weakened at the very least. We can do this. Now... how do we get there?"

Link hesitated, opened his mouth before closing it. "That's... a good question. My armor enables me to swim up the waterfalls, but they don't have any spare zora armor..." He looked around, wishing not for the first time that he had a map. Then something in his head just clicked, and he turned to face the purple-clad merchant. "How good's your grip?"

"Excuse me?"

"How's your grip? Can you hold onto something in the most turbulent of situations?"

"I-I mean it s not crap, so I guess it s pretty good."

Link beamed. "Good enough for me. I'll lead, you just follow. I'll tell you the plan once we get there." He sprinted down the stairs, Ravio hot on his heels, and dashed across the small clearing to the waterfall. He slowed in the water. Ravio muttered something about it being colder than he d liked, but Link ignored it and waded up to the loud cascade of water. He had to swim the last few feet but was happy to see his bunny-eared friend keeping up.

"Get on my back."

Ravio faltered in the water but regained his composure quickly. "Get on your back? You intend to give me a piggyback ride?"

"Is the waterfall to loud? Get on my back! Hold on as tightly as you can, ok?"

Hesitantly swimming up to the knight, Ravi wrapped his arms around his torso, and awkwardly straddled his waist, making sure it d be hard to be knocked off. "Are you sure this is a good idea, Link?"

Before he could say any more, Link suddenly launched himself at the waterfall, and began to swim up it, moving his arms like he was in a lake, swimming. Ravio tightened his grip, not daring to glance behind him as the young knight swam up. At the end of the waterfall, Link launched them both a few feet in the air before falling onto the blue surface connected to the waterfall. Link stumbled due to the weight of Ravio, and fell face first into the shallow water. His friend quickly got off his back and pushed his shoulder in concern.

Link pushed himself up, laughing. "Ow... you're pretty heavy, ok? Too bad we've got to do that two more times. But I guess if I can swim up a waterfall with a heavy lug like you on my back, I'm pretty sure I can face off with a red lynel."

Ravio stood up, crossing his arms in a huff. "I do not weigh that much. You're being dramatic. Come on, might as well get this over with." Link reached up and grabbed ahold of the offered hand, allowing Ravio to help him up. They waded up to the next waterfall, the pool where the water gathered proving to be not as deep as the first. Ravio got back on the blue-eyed trainee s back and held on tight when Link swam up the next waterfall. The next pool of water was a tad bit deeper, but they took their time.

Link suggested splitting up this time around to look for food. Ravio had a question about why. "What's the point? It'd be best if we just headed right for the lynel. Why stall?"

The golden-haired young man pulled out his sword, gripping the wet hilt tightly as he looked around. "It can help us regain some energy as we fight. It d be better to be prepared, you know. Check over there."

He ran off to a cluster of hyrule herbs, gently tugging them out of the ground and storing them in his belt pack. A fox watched him from a few yards away, and Link considered killing it. It ran away. He dashed around, collecting a hearty radish before heading back. Ravio hadn't moved but had a roasted trout at his feet. "It sort of just swam up to me, so I pulled out the rod and it was roasted within seconds. We could share it afterwards."

Link nodded, noting it as a good idea. They carefully stored the collected items away and walked into the next pool of water. Once it got to the point where he d have to wade, Ravio clambered onto his back yet again. Link faced the waterfall and swam up, Ravio's grip getting to be rather painful. At the top of the waterfall, Link fell over again, doubled over and panting slightly as the merchant got off his back.

Ravio looked around, his bunny ears flopping around. "Now, where do we go to see this lynel? I m not excited about it, but I want to get it over with. Helping the people of zora's domain is a noble cause as well." Before he could walk away, Link reached out and took a hold of his friend's damp wrist. "Wait for a bit. It'd be better to dry off."

It took a moment of hesitation, but Ravio sat down in the grass. After a moment, he looked up at the light-haired trainee and asked, "Why exactly do we need to dry off? I can't really think of any reason why we should stall this."

Standing up straight and stretching, Link smiled down at him. "I just want to be safe. I heard rumors that the monster has shock arrows, and I don t need you dying due to being drenched if you are attacked. I won't let a friend die."

A few minutes passed, a gentle breeze eventually reaching the two young men. Link reached up and took a hold of his sword handle, glancing down at Ravio. "We should head up now. Get ready and follow me from a reasonable distance. I want to try and sneak up on it. For your safety, I'd hope you d only attack when it's safe, but it's honestly up to you. Just... don't die."

With a small nod from the green-eyed merchant, Link, with his sword at his side and his shield held up, started walking up the hill to where the lynel was rumored to stay. The walk was slow and deliberate, and Link could almost sense Ravio's anxiety about the fight. He was scared too, but he couldn t show it. If he showed his fear more openly, it would worry Ravio even more.

The trudge was short, and they both quickly ducked behind the nearest boulder, despite having no idea where the lynel was. Gesturing for Ravio to stay put until ready, Link steeled himself and peeked around the edge of the rock. The monster was simply standing in the middle of a shallow puddle, looking around. It's mane and most noticeable fur was crimson, the rest a darker gray color. The more horse like part of its body was most likely larger than Link, so that would be a good spot for him to attack. The weapons on its back looked vicious, so dodging would be crucial. Link took a deep breath and stepped out from behind the rock.

It took a few moments to notice him, and once the beast locked eyes with the hylian, it took out it's bow and nocked shock arrows. Link began sprinting to the side, his pulse already pounding as the three arrows missed him by mere inches. He took in the terrain while he circled the monster. The rocks would be good to hide in, but the puddles would most certainly cause his death if any shock arrows went in. Facing the lynel head-on was his best chance. Skidding to a stop, Link recklessly started dashing right at the monster, and swung his sword as strongly as he could at its abdomen. It pulled out its weapons, and the trainee promptly backed up and circled cautiously.

The amount of damage Link's sword did was basically the same as digging a fingernail into your skin; the only noticeable wound was a slight indent in the skin. The monster swung its intimidating sword at him, the hylian dodging just in time and responding with a few of his own attacks. The lynel's growl sent a shiver down his spine, and it attacked him in quick succession, multiple swings while advancing at the smaller being. It was certainly keeping Link on his toes, and he spent most of the next minute trying to figure out patterns.

The lynel definatily had some repeated movements, Link made sure to keep his back to the rock with Ravio, so the merchant might have a look at Link to see if he was ok. When Link assumed he had most of the attacks planned out, the lynel stopped and let out a bloodcurdling roar, sending out a circle of dust stopping at a certain distance. It reared back on its hind legs and sent the sword crashing into the ground. Both Ravio and Link managed to get out of the way just before the dome of fire got to them. Hiding behind him, Ravio peeked over his shoulder. "Y-you haven't done much, huh? I-I could help, y-you know! I'm faster than I look."

Link glanced over his shoulder, shield up in defense. "I guess you can help. Just... I don t want you getting hurt-"

"Look out!"

The two of them were thrown back and Link heard the loud grinding sound of metal against metal. The lynel skidded to a sot a few feet away from them and turned while they scrambled to their feet. Ravio took to one side, and Link cautiously checked his shield, seeing a shallow cut across the middle. Then, Ravio ran up to the monster, wielding the rod and shield, and started attacking its side. He caught the monster off guard, and Link ran up and started slashing at the same spot he had started. They both jumped back when it jumped back into the attack of multiple horizontal swings, and Link got a good look at the cut he had made.

The lynel let out another roar, and the two fighters backed up, unnerved and ready again. But it bent over, hands on the ground, and launched itself at Link. Letting out an alarmed shout, he fell over backwards and managed to dodge. The lynel remain hunched over where it stopped, and Link got to his feet. He ran up to the monster, and by a wild whim, he jumped up onto the back of the horse part. Adrenaline powering his movements, Link went to hacking away at the lynel s back, a slight burn shooting through his legs as the lynel tried to toss the attacker off it s back.

Link felt he had done some good damage when the lynel threw him off his back. He felt himself fall through the air, and he wasn't aware of how close to the rocks they were when he felt his right shoulder slam into the rock behind him. Pain shot down his shield arm, but he was certain that it wasn't dislocated. Ravio was fending the enemy off, dancing around the monster and attacking it. Link waited until the ache wore off a bit and ran back into the fight. Ravio saw him coming and backed up to allow Link to get room to attack. He got multiple slashes in before the lynel attacked him again.

The adrenaline and pure instincts taking ahold of his reflexes, Link held his shield up, and hardly a moment before the sword collided, he swung the shield at the weapon, and the lynel fell back, the attack deflected. With the time given, Link attacked quickly, Ravio cheering him on. When done, both the human and the monster stumbled back, the monster notably hurt at this point. With an enraged roar, the hurt lynel launched itself at Link again, and he readied his sword to stab. He slipped the blade into the horse part s chest, but the lynel managed to slam the side of its weapon against his chest.

The force of the lynel sent Link flying again, losing his grip on the hilt and leaving his sword in the monster. He felt against the rock again, his right shoulder slamming into it harder this time. Hearing a near quiet pop and feeling a vicious burning pain in the shoulder, he looked up weakly to see the lynel doubled over in agony. Ravio was sprinting towards Link while the lynel's body was covered in darkness. He became more aware of the fire in his shoulder as the monster died, and Ravio knelt near him. "Hey! We did it- O-oh. Are you ok? Link?"

Groaning, the sapphire-eyed hylian adjusted his position with his unhurt arm and looked up at Ravio with a weak smile. "W-we did it! M-my sh-shoulder... I t-think it's dislocated..."

His friend's eyes widened, and he started to reach for the shoulder before pulling back. "I-I don t think it would be safe to move you too much... I know a bit about how to fix these, but you ll need to move a little bit."

Link nodded and glanced over at his arm. "M-might want to move the shield... help?" Ravio smiled nervously, and carefully tried to move the shield out of his grip. Link grunted at the spike of pain, but Ravio eventually got it off. "O-ok, now I need you to be flat on your back... I ll help you with that, and we ll need your arm out at um... a 90-degree angle."

The young knight-in-training uncomfortably shifted onto his back, hissing with pain, and allowed Ravio to carefully and slowly position his arm. "Ok, ok, ok, ok..." He let out a nervous laugh and held his arm, one hand on the wrist and the other around the elbow. Painfully slowly, painful both mentally and physically, Ravio began to pull on Link s dislocated arm. Gripping a tuft of grass with his left hand, Link gritted his teeth while Ravio worked on relocating the bones.

It took what felt like hours but was only about a minute, but with a small clunk, the arm popped back into the socket and Link felt the pain ease a bit. He sat up, trying not to use the fixed arm too much. "Now what? I ll clearly need to see a professional in the domain, but how do we get back?"

Ravio stayed silent for a moment before speaking. "That's a good question. I can't really think of a safe way down..." He reached into his pack, switching his gaze from Link and the pack. "Let me just get cloth to make a makeshift sling. Try not to move your arm that much. We don't need it getting worse."

Link waited silently while Ravio pulled out a thick strip of cloth. "Here. Bend you re arm a bit. I need to set up the sling..." He held his arm out a little bit, allowing Ravio to wrap it around his forearm. He pulled around Link s neck and tied off the makeshift sling. Testing it, Link moved his arm around slightly.

"Is it good enough? It's the best bit of cloth I've got, so I hope it works for long enough."

Link smiled up and him and nodded. Ravio helped him to his feet, and the two young men looked around for a way to get down. It took a few minutes of scouting, but they found a half-decent way of getting down.

* * *

It took a few hours to get back without messing with Link's arm. While she had a zora with extensive medical knowledge check him out, Zelda asked Ravio how the fight went. "It was pretty rough, honestly. I feel like we re lucky that the only thing that happened was Link's arm dislocation. I'm glad I studied a bit about injuries."

The queen smiled and glanced over a Link. "I could imagine he was pretty brave. It's impressive that he went for it," She glanced back at the merchant. "but you were pretty brave to help him out, too.

Ravio smiled and reached up to play a bit with the ears on his hood. After a moment, he froze and stopped. "I- what do you think about them? The ears? I decided on them a few years ago because I ve always liked rabbits, and Sheerow seems to like them too."

Zelda smiled. "I think they're cute! Makes you more approachable, and also shows even more how nice you are. It is a great idea, makes you iconic in way, as well."

Ravio smiled and looked down at his feet. "So... uh... I kinda want to head home now. I think I'll say good-bye to Link really quick. Can you send me back soon?"

Nodding, Zelda watched him walk away. Unhooking the slate, the queen activated the sheikah slate and searched through the map until finding Lurelin's shrine. Gazing over at Ravio talking with Link, she could see he had removed his hood. She took a moment to reflect on the fact that they we not related, but yet resembled each other quite a bit. She watched them talk, then hug. Link used both arms, so she assumed his arm wasn't that bad.

The merchant returned and nodded as a way to tell her he was ready to go. He placed a hand on the slate, and Zelda transported him home, hoping to get back in time for the knight trainees to get ready to leave for Goron City.

* * *

 **On to Goron City!**

 **Dang, I feel like that lynel scene was written a bit badly, but I'm still working on my own skills.**

 **Anyways, they might run into someone on the way to the city.**

 **I just wonder if I can properly portray them. Again. With more dialouge.**

 **Gaahhh... posting this was a nightmare, what with quotations and apostrophes erased...**


	9. Ego

**Yay! Another chapter! I'm pretty satified with how it came out.  
**

 **Hope you like it too!**

* * *

The knights all packed up rather quickly, Midna ending up mock-cheering on the last knight to pack up. Link didn t hear much of what she said and decided to ignore it. His shoulder was definitely feeling better, the zora that helped him yesterday told him it wasn t dislocated that badly. The only problem was that he shouldn t move the arm too much for a few days.

His knight s shield was pretty dinged up from the fight, but Zelda assured him it would still last longer. Once Rowan finished packing, Midna smiled over at Zelda. The queen only glanced at her for a moment then back at the trainees. "So, we'll be heading to Goron City. Don't ask about the armor just yet, it'll be supplied at the stable at the base of the mountain. We'll head quickly to the stable, and we should be able to make it to the next one by nightfall. The roads to the Foothill stable are a bit wider, and the path is hard to stray from, so you'd be able to stray from the group. But you need to stay in groups of two, for safety."

Link and Damien smiled at each other. They take some time to say goodbye to the veteran knights- although Link couldn't help but think that they didn t really interact too much- and eventually tell farewell to the zora. The goodbyes went by fairly quickly, and they soon left, still rather early in the morning.

The walk, or rather, jog down the path to the marsh. It seemed like a blur to Link, considering he spent most of the time thinking about his time in the domain. Damian stayed at his side, leading him away from edges and danger when he went through memories.

The path became less humid as it went on, and he tuned out anyone talking. While in the domain, Link didn t really see any of the zora royalty. The king was visible from time to time, and Mipha trained them in spear using every so often, but Link didn't think he saw Sidon too much. Though, when he thought about it, he could remember seeing a small, red zora with a rather long head tail. His best assumption was that that was Sidon, since he looked to resemble Mipha.

The spear training was valued by him, and Mipha eventually pit each of her group pupils against each other as practice. Link was good a being humble, but he couldn't help but indulge in his victory by bragging a bit about how he beat Damian. The taller knight was a bit miffed by his boasting, but he eventually began joking about all of his mistakes.

They reached the wetlands by ten, still having time to rest at the nearest stable for lunch. Midna made a point to stay near the queen this time around, and Link kept an eye out for death traps. A lizalfos strayed near the group at one point until Rowan attacked it for getting too close. The rest of the walk through the humid wetlands was safe. Once out of the marsh, Zelda made a point to thank Midna for so diligently keeping an eye out for her safety.

The stable workers cheerfully greeted the queen, doing as she asked and went to bringing their horses out. As they waited, the trainees each crouched around the cooking pot as if to wait for a meal. Silence ensued for a few moments, then Damian peered over at Link. "You know, Zelda told us all about the lynel fight after that merchant left. In all honesty, it shows that you re going to be a great knight!"

Not-so-quiet murmuring quickly broke out around Link. Jan beamed at him. "It sounded pretty tough! I think we're lucky to have you with us, hell, all of Hyrule is lucky to have you, really!"

Blushing, Link sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. "I mean, I couldn't have done it without Ravio... and I did hurt my arm doing it... Anyone could have done it, really, I just got to it first."

Everen stared at him, as is astonished by his modesty. "Yeah, but like you said, you got to it first! You were the one brave enough to even consider it. Same goes for Ravio! He was pretty spirited to accept your invitation for him to help you fight that beast."

"You'll boast about kicking Damian's ass in spear training but not killing a lynel?" Rowan gawked at Link while he felt his ear-tips go warm. "Seriously, you heard those stories, right? Large groups got injured, almost near death, fighting stronger lynels, and you and bunny-ears stumble back to the domain with nothing worse than a dislocated shoulder. You'll definitely be pretty well known around Hyrule if the news spreads. Who knows what you'll beat next!"

Midna crouched near Link, finding an open spot in the circle. "Don't be too humble, taking down a lynel is not like killing a bokoblin. Even the red ones have felled many travelers. Sure, you might not take down a silver one like I have, but you've definitely shown your skill, Wolf."

"Wolf? My name's-"

"I know your name, that's just my nickname for you. You're wolf because I like wolves, and I like you."

The mage smiled down at Link, and he glanced away, feeling even more sheepish. Damian studied Midna, and suddenly asked, "You're not hylian, right? With your eyes and skin color, you can't be."

"I'm not, and I'm surprised no one asked earlier. I'm from the Twilight Realm, and like a few others that are in Hyrule, I'm a twili. Only a few of us are here, the way from and to the realm was broken about a decade ago, but I like it here. Yeah, I miss the perpetual twilight of my home, but the diversity of Hyrule is cool."

Midna smiled at them all, and stood up, walking over to where Zelda waited with the horses. "Well, we better get going. Like Zelda said, you can go ahead once the path widens, but don't go alone. With all of the monsters in Hyrule, it's dangerous to go alone."

* * *

An hour had passed since Damian and Link had rode ahead of the group. He had offered to stay by the queen s side, but Zelda told him that he didn't need to worry about her all the time, and that he should spend time with his friend. They didn't eat much at the stable, just a few raw ingredients before heading off.

"I feel stupid in this..." Damian muttered for what felt like the tenth time, motioning to the new armor for Goron city. It was rather bulky, and Link himself thought they looked a tad silly, but it helped keep him a bit cooler, and Zelda said it would make them fireproof. She and Midna would simply use potions to not burn up. They took the long way around the marsh, and now had their horses at a slower pace.

If he looked into the distance, Link could see the perpetually autumn area of Akkala. He'd always wanted to go there, but the young man wouldn't get much of a chance during knight training. Sighing to himself, Link leaned over a bit and patted Maddox gently, murmuring quietly to his steed. Damian watched, then asked, "When'd you get Maddox?"

Relaxing a bit, Link smiled to himself. "You know that ranch we passed on the way to Zora s Domain in the field, right? I met the owners of the ranch, and even visited a few times. It's three sisters. I liked the horses, and they liked me back. Maddox was the one that really took a shine to me, and they let me keep him. What about yours?"

Difficult to see though the helmet, Damian smiled warmly. "Yeah, she's a stable horse, but I think she likes me."

He patted his horse gently. "I named her Marigold. I like her tan color. I think she also seems calmer around Maddox than the others."

They both laughed and continued along the path. Time passed without any talking until passed the fork in the road.

"Son of a _bitch_!"

Both young men glanced at each other, sending the silent question of _did you hear that?_ Barely a moment passed when they heard another horse behind them, and another rider sped between them, scaring both of the knight's horses with the speed. The horse was a bluish color, the rider wearing a black cloak with dark blue clothing underneath. Link could swear he caught a glimpse of some sort of bow under the cloak.

Damian growled, and ushered Marigold of run after the faster horse. Link glanced over his shoulder and sped Maddox up, seeing what the other rider was running from.

Three blue bokoblins were riding on their own horses with crude spears, led by a black one with a bow. It certainly explained the rider's haste.

"Sorry 'bout that, get out of the way next time!"

Link urged Maddox to go faster, and instantly recognized the voice of the rider. It was that thief they met at the castle, Linebeck, but what was he doing here? He managed to ride next to Damian, still behind the thief and pursued by the monsters. "You recognize him, right?"

"Yeah, actually, and I now want to get away from these monsters!"

They both suddenly pulled roughly on their reins, steering the two horses to the side, seeing that Linebeck had stopped his own horse completely. Damian was about to start shouting at him, but he turned to the monsters and held his bow and aimed at the monsters, nocking an arrow quickly. Link stared at the bow. It was similar to the lynel bow that the red one had, but was a bit larger, and the metal on the end was a different shape.

Linebeck let the arrow loose at the monsters, and Link watched as five arrows flew through the air instead of one, and four pierced each bokoblin's heads. The three blue bokoblins fell off their steeds and dissipated into a black dust. The darker bow-wielder fell off their horse as well but was still alive.

Link and Damian both hopped off their horses as Linebeck muttered "Shit," and ran up to the survivor. Both of them drew their weapons, Damian reaching it first. He slowed for a moment and swung his claymore at the bokoblin, knocking it back. It quickly got back to its feet, but Link slashed it across the chest and killed it before it had a chance to retaliate.

Watching it turn into a black cloud, Link turned and smiled at the thief. He simply stared back, an arrow nocked. Damian returned his claymore to the strap on his back, reaching up and removing his helmet. "Ok, I don't care if this makes me fireproof, it's really uncomfortable. Link, you might as well savor not wearing it for as long as you can."

Link nodded and removed his flamebreaker helm, walking over to his horse. Reaching up and patting Maddox, he turned to face Linebeck. "Funny seeing you here. You re welcome for the help!"

"Funny seeing you, too. I had it under control. You didn't need to help."

Link blinked. "Oh, so you running away from them was a tactic?"

Linebeck opened his mouth for a response, then closed it with a conflicted expression. The two of them were silent, Damian audibly laughing in the background.

"Anyways," Link continued, "Cool bow! I didn't know that lynel bows could shoot that many arrows!"

The thief held up his lynel bow so that Link could see it better. "It's a savage lynel bow. They're more powerful than a normal lynel bow. And mine happens to be able to shoot five arrows at a time. Magic, or some crap."

The knight trainee started to reach towards the bow but pulled his hand back. "Don't only silver lynels have this tier of lynel bow?"

"White lynels too, but the silver ones are really the only ones with the enhanced ones." A smug look crossed his face.

Link stared at the weapon for a few moments later, Damian already climbing back onto his horse. He thought back to the stories Gaddison had told him. "Wait, you were with the group of thieves that fought the silver lynel a few years back?"

Looking down at Link in silence, he held the bow out a bit, as if wanting him to hold it. Link hesitated and took it from his hands, surprised by its weight. Leaving the knight with the bow, Linebeck placed his hands on his hips pridefully. 'Of course, I was the one with the bow. I helped quite a bit from afar, and I very much doubt that they had much of a chance without my help."

Damian snorted from atop his horse, catching the attention of both of them. "Yeah, and you ended up almost dying. They would ve been fine without you. Besides, hadn't you only been in the guild for about a year at that point?"

Staring down at the bow, Link handed back to Linebeck, who took it back a bit angrily, and snapped at Damian, "Shut it, you little raven. I've had a natural skill for the bow for some time now, more so than you, that's for sure." He let out a sigh and glanced over at Link. "You guys are heading to Goron city for your training, right? I've been there a few times. I'm heading there now, actually. I'll come with you to the stable if you'll allow that."

Link nodded while Damian shook his head. A bit confused, Link ran up to Damian. "Why not?" He murmured up to his friend.

Damian scowled. "He's a jerk and not worth being around. It's easy to tell just from a few minutes of being around him. Why do you think he's worth it?"

The shorter trainee shrugged. "Honestly, I think he's a jerk too, but it might pay off to at least be friendly. I want to try and be friends with him, what the hell do you think you can get out of this?"

Glancing over at Linebeck, Damian hissed, "I don't know, I just don't trust him. I guess if I deal with this, it can be like a bit of a 'know your enemy' type experience."

"Fine! It s decided." Link turned back to the waiting thief. "Sure, you can come with us. The rest of the group is a bit behind us, we were the only ones who decided to go this far ahead." He ran up to Maddox and climbed into the saddle, allowing the thief time to get ready. They began along the path once done.

The first few minutes consisted of silence, broken only a few times by the horses quietly neighing at the sight of other animals. Every so often, the two knights-in-training would glance warily at Linebeck, Damian more often than Link. Starting to become uncomfortable with the quiet, Link spoke up, looking over at Linebeck. "So, your bow's heavier than most types. What's the bowstring like? It didn't look like any string I've ever seen."

Link waited a moment, and the thief answered, still facing forward with his hood making it difficult to see his face. "That's because it's not really string. It's some sort of fairly flexible metal. Most people would have difficultly pulling it back, but I'm fine, with a few years of practice." He turned his head a fraction in Link's direction with an overconfident smile.

"Impressive, huh?"

* * *

They all reached the stable in a few minutes, having picked up their pace later on. The stable workers greeted them, and took their horses in. Link watched Damian sit by the cooking pot, and walked over the Linebeck, sitting at the inside table. Hesitantly sitting in the chair opposite of him, Link smiled at the thief. Before he could speak, Linebeck muttered, "Why the hell are you smiling at me? I have no intention to become your friend."

Link shifted in his seat. "Well, ok. I at least was to know you a bit better. I know that you sometimes ride down to the ruins near the ocean in Akkala. Why do you do that? And why in the middle of the night?"

Linebeck shrugged and glanced to the side. "Yeah, I like those ruins. They're actually not that broken, and they're pretty at night. I also generally like the ocean. It looks beautiful with moonlight reflecting off the water."

"Yeah, but why at night? You can see the sunlight on the water. Besides, you do it so often. I assume you have some sort of sleep disorder?"

"You assume?" Linebeck asked dryly. "I don't know where you could've possible gotten that from. Yeah, I've got insomnia. Usually forces me to stay up for about six days, sometimes ten. It's pretty bloody annoying, really. Gives me more time to travel, at least."

Crossing his arms on the table, Link leaned forward a bit. "Why do you travel so much? I heard that the thieves' guild isn't much for assignments, but most of them stay in the guild territory since you guys help guard the path into the scholar's guild. You're all generally called thieves since the guild trains in stealth and taking info if needed but you guys don't have much motivation to move around too much."

He blinked and realized he had started to space out while talking. Linebeck had started to pull his hood down, currently managing to cover his eyes. "Goddesses, boy, most people say that you don t talk much, but holy crap."

People talked about him? The knight straightened up, not concealing the shock in his eyes. "Wait, people actually talk about me?"

"Don't act so surprised," The thief drawled, pushing his hood back. "You fought a lynel and lived to tell the tale. Granted, it was only a red one, and you weren't alone, but that's not really a common thing. Along with the fame, you get boasting rights when you do stuff like that." A smirk crossed his face. "Why not brag a bit, indulge in the attention you've drawn to yourself?"

Damian had walked into the stable, and was sitting on a nearby bed, changed into his own travel clothing. Linebeck leaned back in his chair, his feet on the table.

"Why would I brag?"

"...What?"

Link pulled his arms off the table, his eyes bright. "I wouldn't gain anything from boasting about it. Sure, it feels nice every once in a while, but I'd rather be known for humbly helping people out than retelling the story arrogantly, for my own selfish wants."

He maintained eye contact with the thief before becoming uncomfortable with the slightly hostile glint in the green.

Shifting slightly, Link averted his blue eyes. "I'm just trying to be friendly, ok? That last bit was a bit of a challenge, but I want to be nice to you. Why's that such a problem?"

"It's like I said. I have no intention of becoming friends with you. Besides, if you ask me, being too friendly to a person gives them a window to take advantage of your good nature. I prefer not to get too close to other people." He glanced over to the side nonchalantly, then back at Link. "I think the rest of your acquaintances have arrived."

Standing up quickly and almost knocking his chair back, Link headed out of the stable the greet the others. Waving eagerly as the queen led the rest of the group to the stable, Link glanced over his shoulder and watched Damian leave the stable to greet them with him. Zelda rode up to them and smiled down cheerfully. Her horse eyed the two of them but stayed quiet.

"I'm not surprised that you two beat us here, but we saw the remains of some bokoblins back there. I assume you two took care of them?"

Link shook his head before Damian could speak. "We did finish off one of them, but we only helped. We ran into a thief named Linebeck on the way here; he's the who killed most of them. He's pretty good with a bow."

Midna rode up to them, stopping next to Zelda. "You guys ran into Linebeck again? He didn't come with you, did he?"

"What? You don't enjoy having me around?"

The two knight trainees turned around while Zelda and Midna looked past them, both with marginally different expressions. Linebeck smirked at them with his hands on his hips. "Nice seeing you, Midna. It s been what, two years?" He glanced over at the queen. "Zelda." He said, sounding less then pleased and a tad bit disdainful.

The other knights passed them, letting the stable workers take in their horses. Zelda slid out of her saddle and walked closer to Linebeck. "I don't believe I ve met you. I have heard about you, though. Nice to meet you."

"Well, of course you've heard of me." The thief walked right past her, stopping near Midna. "I can imagine you've had fun protecting the queen for the past year."

She glared down at him. "Don't bother talking like we're close friends. I am a bit interested it what you ve done in the past time, though."

Link tuned out the talking and faced Zelda. "I didn t think he'd be too rude to you... I mean, you re the queen."

She took hold of his wrist and led him over to the cooking pot. Settling down on one of the small benches, she rubbed the back of her neck. "Well, I don't exactly act like a queen. You've noticed that I'm not very strict about things, so I guess most people treat me like another citizen. Sure, there's always respect from everyone, but I'm overall just like them."

Smiling faintly, she added, "Besides, you always expect the best of everyone. You're an optimist. But you'll be disappointed when people tend to be more selfish."

Link deflated slightly and ran his fingers through his hair. He nodded a bit stiffly before standing up. "I'm going to get my stuff together. Going through Death Mountain sounds pretty exciting, so I want to be ready to go in the morning."

Zelda watched him walk away in the bulky armor. After collecting her thoughts, she studied the other knights while they went about their business. Jan and Everen were off to the side, comparing their spears. Rowan had approached Link in the stable and the two of them were talking quietly. Searching for Damian, she spotted him a few feet away from where Midna and Linebeck were talking, conspicuously eavesdropping. Curious herself, she straightened up and joined Damian.

He wasn't facing them, but had his head tilted in a way that clued to him listening. It took a moment for the dark-haired trainee to notice her. "What? You interested in what they're talking about, too? I could fill you in really quick if you want."

The queen nodded, watching while Midna seemed to be interrogating Linebeck.

"So, Midna's basically curious as to why he s here. He just said that he was visiting Death Mountain, like he did with Link and me. Now she's asking what he's been doing for the past two years. He said exploring. I wonder how they know each other."

Zelda turned and faced away from the two talking and listened in with Damian.

Midna seemed to be talking the most in the conversation. "-so interesting about Death Mountain? What you re goal in coming here?"

"Damn, I m not allowed to search for treasure around a volcano? As much as I like talking, leave me alone already."

"You- it's just a bit of a coincidence that you run into us."

"I heard about the lynel fight and got curious about the one who killed it. Besides, you seem to be keeping a pretty close eye on the queen."

"Yeah! She's the target of some psycho trying to end her life! What, you want to help me?"

There was a slight pause, then barely audible whispering. They soon were silent. Zelda strained a bit to try and her something. She let out a small yelp when Midna whispered into her ear, "Eavesdropping, are we? Not too becoming of a queen."

The two of them whipped around and faced the mage and the thief, both with mischievous smiles. "I-I m sorry! I just got curious!" Zelda stammered.

Damian, however, kept his nerves better under check. "Yeah, she's right. I think I'll leave you three to talk."

They watched him saunter away, and then Zelda looked up at the taller two. "How do you two know each other?"

Midna shrugged. "We ran into each other about three years ago, in the Hebra mountains. He was just exploring the area and I was looking to fight some monsters. I found him running from some monsters and fought them off."

"I wasn t running; It's better to have a distance between you and attackers when using a bow!"

"Excuses, excuses. Anyways, we made a temporary pact for the time being, and were a team until leaving the mountains. I wouldn't consider us friends, but we did save each other's lives a few times in those mountains."

Zelda nodded, keeping her view mostly on Midna, watching as she spoke again. "He also mentioned about knowing about the attacks on you. I get the feeling he might want to come with this group for the extent of the knights training. Being a thief, he could help stop some of the traps.'

Turning to face the thief, she noticed his clear discomfort. "I never said that, what are you-"

She shrugged, smiling at him. "She's right, you know. You would be helpful. Why don't you come with us?"

They both regarded each other carefully, Midna trying to look uninterested in them. "Well," Linebeck muttered finally. "What do I get out of this?"

The two women were silent for a time, and Midna growled at him, stiffening slightly in anger. "You'll be helping protect the queen. Why should you expect anything for you alone?"

Linebeck scowled at Midna, before facing the queen and bending down to be eye level with her. "What's in it for me? Something that'd make this whole thing worth it?"

Zelda locked eyes with him. "You'll be known for helping protect me. You'll get extra fame."

Taking a moment to think it over, Linebeck smirked. "Sounds good to me. I'll come with you."

He turned and walked off, Midna glaring after him. Taking note of the contrast between the attitudes of Midna and herself, Zelda watched him leave with a feeling of curiosity rooted deep in her mind.

* * *

 **I don't know what the problem is, but having to re-insert quotations and apostraphies is getting on my nerves.  
**

 **Anyways, I hope I managed to write Linebeck accurately, I've always found him difficult to write.**


	10. Stoked Flames

Link slept without dreams but woke up earlier than everyone. Everyone had removed the flamebreaker armor to sleep but were informed that it would be needed constantly in Goron City. No one liked it, but Midna made a point of telling them that the armor was rare. He slid out of the bed, greeting the night stable worker on his way out.

The early morning air was warm, perhaps because of being near the volcano. He made his way over to the path and sat in the grass, watching the clouds slowly drifting across the sky.

A few minutes passed, and he heard someone walking up behind him. Linebeck sat in the grass next to him, rubbing at his eyes. They didn't interact for a few minutes, though Link glanced at him every few moments.

The sky got lighter before Linebeck spoke. "You want to be a knight, huh. What made you choose that guild? Glory or some shit?"

Crossing his arms and straightening his back, Link shook his head. "No, no. I want to be able to protect the land I live in, and fight against those that wish to harm the innocent."

Linebeck leaned back with his elbows on the grass. The knight relaxed slightly, fixing his gaze on the man beside him. "Why did you assume glory?"

"...Hm?"

"Why did you assume that I joined the knight's guild for glory? I haven't known you for that long, but I get the feeling you expect the worst of everyone."

A few birds chirped nearby, filling the momentary silence. "I usually expect the worst of everything. I'm technically a pessimist. Most people don't understand it, but I'd prefer to expect bad things and be proven wrong when I'm incorrect, rather than expect the best and be disappointed when it turns out the other way."

"Oh."

Link sighed loudly and flopped onto his back on the grass, looking at the clouds above him for discernable shapes. Deciding against turning his head, the hopeful young man quietly asked, "Why did you join the thief's guild? It's not really seen as honorable, and after what happened to the former king and queen and Zelda's retaliation..."

Waiting for a response, Link made a mental list of shapes in the clouds. A flower, a fish, a star, what he made out to be a wolf. Chuckling to himself, Link reflected on how clouds usually look like a sheep. _A wolf in sheep's clothing..._ he thought to himself. Funny, if a bit chilling, considering the current events. The next cloud looked like a dragon.

"I don't care much for honor."

Link broke out of his thoughts. The reedy thief was standing now, facing the volcano. "What do you mean?"

"I don't care for honor. If you get into an honorable fight, you have a higher chance of dying. Even if it is dishonorable, cheating can ensure you live, and you'd be considered cleverer. I also joined it because I knew there'd be more time to adventure, and I d usually been told I can be pretty sneaky."

Link's gaze switched to Linebeck. A strange chill pulled the hair on the back of his neck on end. "Don't care for honor? But... it's morally better to be honorable..."

"I don't really care as long as I come out as the winner, and alive. I know my moral compass could be considered pretty damaged. You mentioned about Zelda's retaliation on my guild, right?"

Did his remark hit a nerve with that? "I- yeah. I'm sorry if that's a sensitive subject..."

"It kinda is. I was new to the guild, joining with my brother about a month before the attack. I was seventeen at the time. We heard about the death of the king and queen and openly grieved for them. Like the rest of the guild. So, you could imagine the surprise and feeling of betrayal when Zelda basically shoved the declaration of war down the guild leader's throat.

"No one was really ready, and it was a few days before we could properly defend ourselves. By then, a fair number of members had been killed or wounded. The new group was advised to hide in more protected spots. My brother and I were ushered to one, but he never made it."

The light-haired knight s eyes widened. "I-I didn't think you were a part of it..." He muttered numbly. Pulling his hands closer to his head, Link pushed himself off the grass and unsteadily got to his feet. "I wouldn't blame you for having a bit of a grudge against Zelda."

The thief shrugged with a small grunt. "Yeah, most of the guild is still made, but we're smart enough not to retaliate. Forgive and forget, y'know. It's just that we had a hard time with the forgive, and the forget is clearly out of the question."

The shorter swordsman scrutinized the taller for a moment, trying to find emotional hints of what he was feeling. All he saw was a blank face. In an attempt to be friendly, Link smiled brightly at Linebeck, and to his surprise, got a faint smile in return. "I'm going to see if anyone's awake. I might make breakfast in a bit if you are interested."

He walked off with a slight spring in his step. It might have turned into a bit of a melancholy talk, but he learned more about the new group member. A quick survey of the stable room proved that everyone was still asleep. The cooking pot wasn t lit. Searching the perimeter, Link found a bit of flint. A quick strike with his sword and the flint started a small fire under the pot.

The pack of ingredients was a tad bit bare, but he found some eggs in a soft pocket. Searching through a bit more and finding some butter, Link decided that just omelets would work. Besides, there was plenty for everyone. He cracked the eggs and let them in the pot, and was well on his way to making food, dropping the butter in slowly.

He almost started folding them over before he felt someone shaking his shoulder. "Just eggs, huh. That's no fun." He turned and frowned at Linebeck. "What? It s fine."

"Nah, its better if you add to the egg. You should get some herbs to cut up and put in."

Link made no noise as Linebeck pushed him aside. "Ill do the eggs. You go get some herbs and cut it up."

"But-"

"Do it, boy."

Huffing slightly, he looked around the area for herbs. It didn t take long; there was a small patch nearby. He bent down next to it and pulled some off. Something shifted near the dirt, and Link screamed, jumping back as the large spider scurried near him.

"Smooth." Link flinched at Linebeck s deadbeat drawl. He gathered up the herbs and trudged back to cut it up. The knight started dicing off the bulbs, holding it down with a hand. It didn t take long for him to fumble with the knife, and he gave himself a clean cut across his right palm.

Hissing in pain and letting the knife clatter on the wood table, he covered the bleeding wound to stop the flow. Looking around rather frantically, he whipped around. "I, uh, cut myself."

Linebeck glanced at him and noticed the cut, and Link watched him walk back into the stable. He returned with some bandages and ointment. "Sit." Link backed up and collapsed in the chair.

He held out his bloodstained hand and braced himself to hold still. He let the taller rub some ointment on the wound, and hissed through his teeth, feeling the cut stinging. While Linebeck wrapped a bandage around the wound, Link asked curiously, "You seem a bit more... nice today as compared to last night."

"I got sleep." He answered simply, focusing on the bandages. "I'm less willing to deal with people's shit the longer I'm awake." Once finished, he walked off, leaving Link to finish up cutting the herbs. Experimentally Link rubbed the bandages and turned back to what he was doing.

* * *

Zelda yawned, rolling over to try and delay having to get up. She was in no mood to go to a volcano, but she at least didn't need to wear the same armor as the knights. Link seemed more tolerable of it, but she could had sworn she spotted Damian attempting to kick the helmet into the strip of water behind the stable before Everen stopped him.

She stayed in bed for a bit longer before forcing herself off the pleasant mattress. Half-stumbling out of the stable, she nearly passed Link, who greeted her with a silent wave. She smiled over a him awkwardly and leaned against the nearest crate. Yawning, the clouds above were a bit blurry to the queen. Pulling her gaze back to the earth, she studied Link a bit, and noticed the bandages covering his palm. "Oh, did you get hurt or something?"

The trainee blinked and pulled up his hand to look at it. "Oh, I was making breakfast for everyone and cut myself cutting some things up. Linebeck helped me patch it up. He's a lot nicer when he gets some sleep, you know."

Zelda tilted her head, remembering last night's curiosity. "Oh, really?" I guess he would be a bit more tolerable when rested." She glanced around a bit, and saw a few omelets set on the outside table. It that what you made? She walked up to them and looked each one over, sliding one plate over to her. "I guess we are leaving in about an hour, so I should get ready. Thanks!"

They both sat at one of the inside tables, Link informing her that he had already eaten. They talked in hushed tones until everyone woke up. Most of the knights were ready to go, and Link joined them to put on the needed armor. Midna sat across from Zelda with their shared pack of potions.

She leaned over the table to get a good look. The twili mage held it open wider. "Do you think we've got enough to last us the whole time?"

Midna withdrew the bag and starting to count the bottles. "Yeah, each should last about twelve hours, and we've got about 40 in here. I think we'll both last." She dropped the volume of her voice and bit and leaned closer. "Do you think you be as safe in Death Mountain as Zora's Domain? I mean, we thought the domain would be perfect, but the attacker still showed up. You were fine on the way here, but there was a large amount of people around on horses."

Zelda gave her a nervous but reassuring smile. "Well, Death Mountain didn't get its name for nothing. I doubt I'll be in much danger from much else than the elements and monsters." She pulled the potion bag across the table and looked through it. Exactly 40. Glancing around the stable, she spotted Linebeck just outside. "You think he's got enough? I mean, he is coming with us."

The mage shrugged. "I asked him about it. He's got more potions then he really needs. He'll be fine." She followed Zelda s gaze and watched him talking with a few of the knights. "I know you haven't known him as long as I have, but he seems a bit less social than a few years ago. I actually asked him about it yesterday, and he simply said that he had more on his mind."

"I think he's interesting." Midna shot Zelda an amused look. "One day. You met him one day ago."

She shrugged, running a hand through her hair and shifting the diamond circlet. "I don't know. He just fascinates me a bit. I've never really interacted with too many thieves, and he seems unique."

Midna scowled, crossing her arms. "He's a quick study. He's a self-absorbed jackass. Not much to be interested about, though I think Wolf- er, Link is trying hard at becoming his friend. He's surprisingly charismatic when he wants to be, though, depending on the audience."

The queen shrugged and turned back to face her friend. "I want to know more about him." Midna rolled her eyes.

They all gathered together and set off to the mountain. Passing through the Maw of Death Mountain, Zelda informed the trainees that they only needed two pieces of armor to proper have the needed fire protection. Not even a minute after receiving this information, each of the future knights removed a piece of equipment, ranging between chest pieces and helmets.

The majority of the group was all bunched up, with Zelda predictably in the lead. Link strayed around the back, keeping an eye on the newcomer. Linebeck was distant from the group, both a few feet away and refused to answer when talked to, deep in thought. A few times, he walked closer, but he waved him away without glancing up.

Aside from passing a few ruins and seeing the occasional fire chuchu, the walk was mostly boring. The heat rose dramatically the farther they got, and soon Link felt like his own skin was melting off with his sweat. He didn t realize they had passed into the fiery part until they passed a pool of lava. Only a few more meters were walked until a black lizalfos sprang at them. Without hesitation, Zelda unsheathed her sword and with a few swift and skilled attacks, left the lizalfos for dead.

As it dissipated into dust, Linebeck stared down at it, and said with the most deadbeat voice he could muster, "You know, I thought this would be boring, but things really heated up for a moment there."

A few stifled laughs were heard in the group, and Midna shot Linebeck a withering glare. They continued on the path.

Only a few minutes had passed before they encountered a few more enemies. This time, Link and Damian both jumped ahead to deal with them and killed the moblins with relative ease. Damian bent down and picked up a moblin fang before it burned, and they both heard Linebeck speak again behind them, with more emotion then before. "Hah, they shouldn't have messed with us, it's clear they couldn't take the heat!"

Midna very visibly clenched her teeth, glaring daggers at the thief.

The march was resumed, and Link was now anticipating the next pun to be heard. A few minutes passed without delay, and they soon reached the first mine. Zelda left the trainees behind, and Midna kept and angry eye on Linebeck. Unsure what to do, Link glanced around and waved at the nearest goron kindly. After a moment, the goron smiled back, returning the wave. Footsteps approaching the group made him turn his head.

Zelda smiled brightly, looking slightly flustered. "Well, we still have a way to go. But, they also said that the city has been preparing for us, and that they'd be happy to have us there for the next three weeks."

Link turned his head towards Linebeck and saw him laughing to himself a bit. "Well, it's nice to know they'll accept us so warmly, it really melts the heart!"

More people laughed at that one, a few gorons around them looking confused. Midna continued glaring daggers, her eyes narrowed. What was her problem? Before Link could think of a rational answer, Zelda had them keep moving. More lava surrounded the path up to the city, and the heat intensified uncomfortably.

Linebeck quickened his pace, trying to hide his smile but failing. Link sped up after him, watching as he stopped next to Zelda. She gazed at him warily before he spoke. "You're responsible for this whole group yes?"

Nodding slowly, clearly anticipating another pun. "Yeah, I'm in charge of their actions and would take responsibility."

His green, bloodshot eyes glittering with humor, he continued with, "So, would you say that you're in the _hot seat_ right now?"

Zelda let out a small chuckle before dissolving into laughs, and the group followed until Midna whipped around and punched Linebeck in the face, clearly livid.

Everyone watched in a stunned silence as Linebeck fell to the ground and curled up, cupping his nose while Midna kept her fist clenched, glaring down at him. Link didn't even dare breath. The only noise was Linebeck's quiet, hurt whine.

And then everyone was talking at once. Zelda stomped up to Midna, pulled roughly on her arm and shouting in her face, "What is wrong with you?! You can't just attack him, no matter how annoying! Self-control, dammit!"

Most of the knights were talking riotously, shoving at each other, obsessing and worrying out loud to one another. Link didn t bother listening in, he caught a glimpse of Damian, shouting boisterously above the rest of the crowd. "Midna holy crap that was AWESOME! Do it again!"

Thinking quickly and succumbing to his good and unselfish nature, Link pushed through the tiny crowd. He reached where Linebeck was curled up on the ground and crouched near him. Tentatively placing a hand on his shoulder, Link asked sympathetically, "You ok? I'd assume it was a pretty aggressive hit."

He pulled back slightly, give the thief space and push himself off the ground and kneel with his head tilted down. Link decided to ignore the blood dripping from his nose. "Do you think it s broken?"

Linebeck held out his hand, catching the dripping blood in his palm. "Maybe, though I think she was holding back. Hurts like hell..."

Not bothering to ask, Link positioned himself next to him and helped him stand, Linebeck s arm across his shoulder. Staring at the way Linebeck had his hand covering his nose, he contemplated what a broken nose would even feel like. "Hey, do you think you ll be recovering for too long?"

Experimentally removing his hand and showing the bloody mess around his nose, the thief shrugged shakily. "Probably not, Midna's nice enough not to do too much damage. She knows how important I am."

Link sighed. He d only been around him for less than twenty-four hours, and he could clearly tell this guy was a piece of work. Though his friendship would most likely prove to be worth gaining. He peered back at the group, and let his eyes follow Zelda while she calmed the group down. Midna looked to have chilled out for a bit.

"Can you think of a reason for why Midna hit you?"

Linebeck laughed awkwardly. "We met in Hebra Mountains a few years ago and was stuck there for some time. In a sca- I-in a tight situation I usually make puns to try and break the ice. She didn t take too kindly to it when we were in that frozen-over hell, considering that I kept coming up with new ones. I guess she's sick and tired of it. It has been a few years though."

Link studied his gaunt face, looking for hidden emotions. A quick glance would just bring attention to his dauntless smirk, but the way his eyes darted around suggested something else. It was almost unnerving, the way he'd glance around rapidly, linger for a moment then continue to look around.

Slightly more concerned, Link murmured, "Are you really alright? Did you hit your head or something?"

"...What?"

Link stepped away, allowing Linebeck to stand without his support. "Did you hit your head? You're acting a bit strangely."

Linebeck hesitated for a moment, bringing his hand to his head. "I guess. I am a bit woozy. She really caught me off-guard..."

"Is he alright?" Zelda walked up behind them, a genuinely concerned look on her face. The group of knights was more docile, Midna looking like she was talking with them. The blue-eyed knight shrugged. "I'm not really sure. He said that his nose isn't too badly hurt, but we're both pretty sure he might have hit his head. Maybe he can rest while we're at Goron City?"

The group debated how they d spend the first day in the city and continued on their path. Midna strayed to the back and attempted to talk to Linebeck, apologizing, but every time Link glanced back he was turned away, occasionally wiping at the blood on his face. The rest of the path to the city was straightforward and were soon greeted by the first guard. He greeted them enthusiastically and led them into the city.

It was smaller than Link expected, though he was too captivated by the stone structures to pay attention to each speaker. Everything was stone or metal. The bridges they walked on a few times were metal, and it made Link wonder if Gorons felt much heat on their feet, considering the metal just above lava.

It didn t take all that long for them to find the inn, and everyone set their things up quickly. Linebeck disappeared for some time, having gone to ask around for someone to help him with his nose. The knights were mostly talking in one corner, and Link decided to join them. The current topic of choice happened to be Midna, who was trapped by the group circled around her. "Guys, guys, clam down, I'm not normally that aggressive, I just flew off the handle for a moment there. I could tell you more about my guild, though."

Link pushed his way closer to her, and asked, "Why exactly are you considered mages? I mean I understand with the elemental weapons, but can you do any magic?"

She contemplated his question and smiled at them. "Yeah, we do. The longer we're in the guild, the more we can learn. We can't learn anything really powerful, but after fifteen years, I've learned some pretty cool things."

She held out her hand, palm up, and a small white light hovered above it. The knights gasped and stepped back with awed shouts as it spread across her hand and up her arm and turned into ice. "This is one of my favorite things to do. It's a bit hard to learn successfully and maintain in a place like this, but I like ice-based magics."

Link was again shoved to the back, Damian shrugging sympathetically at him. Zelda spoke behind him, her voice rather quiet. "Hey, do you mind coming with me on a walk tonight? I want to look around the area a bit more, and with all these attacks I'd feel safer with you around."

She fiddled with her bow while she waited for a response, tugging gently on the string. "Sure, I'll come," Link responded, smiling brightly. "When do we leave?"

A few hours had passed, and everyone came to the unanimous agreement that the rock beds were very much uncomfortable, most of them opposed to sleeping on them. A few people fought over who got to sleep on the pile of bags, but Zelda told them not to, considering that a few of the bags had weapons in them.

Linebeck had returned a few minutes after the bed debate with a few bandages over the bridge of his nose. He had been given a sort of sleeping concoction to help him and ended up taking it just before dark. Link was personally impressed that he was out only a few minutes after drinking it. He got bored of waiting and decided to tend to his sword while anticipating when Zelda would leave.

By the time everyone fell alseep, Link s sword basically glowed. Spending over an hour shining and cleaning it made it look as good as new. Sighing, then holding back a yawn, Link slid the weapon back into its sheathe. His shield was holding up rather well, though he decided against cleaning it. Zelda walked in the inn near midnight, gesturing for him to follow her out of the city.

It didn t take long to leave, considering the size. Only one or two gorons were still out and about, but they didn t pay any attention to the hylians. The queen led him to a back way in, passing the city s shrine. Link followed her slowly, staying away from the cliff edges. "Where are we going?"

Zelda didn't turn to face him when answering. "I'm just curious about the volcano. I want to get a closer look with you."

They walked for a little longer. Link felt a bit confused, then spoke his mind. "Why always me? Have you ever spent time with the others?"

"Yeah, actually. A few times in Zora's Domain, I took a few of them aside and looked around the area with them. You should talk to Rowan more. She's interesting. I've always thought Damian was too aggressive. Though, put together with your skill and connection to the legends, I'm more curious about you."

They crossed a large bridge, and Zelda took out another fireproof elixir and drank it and handed the knight one as well. Link felt a low burning in his torso, but his legs were fine, and the elixir allowed him to take the helmet off. "Why are you so hung up about the legend? I understand the deal with you and I having names from the legend as well as the other thief you mentioned, but perhaps it's just a coincidence."

The queen stopped and sighed. If it weren t for the nearby lava, she d just be a silhouette when Link looked at her. "It s just... with the attacks on my life, and my discovery of you... I've been worried that we might repeat history in a way. I've had a friend of mine keep an eye on the thief Ganondorf. I know it's paranoid and a bit odd, but I'm just scared that something will be triggered."

A few rocks tumbled down near the two of them, and they both glanced up at a higher cliff, distrustful. Zelda pointed up at it. "Want to check that out?"

Together, they climbed up the cliff. Zelda lunged up a bit of the way, and continued up unaffected, and when Link tried he felt drained. Clawing the top of the cliff and pulling himself up, the swordsman gasped for a few breaths while Zelda looked around. Taking in the broad expanse of rock, Link glanced over at the queen. "I-I take it you've h-had more time to train your stamina..."

She didn't answer. The sound of metal scraping against rock hurt Link s ears. Why the hell was she moving pebbles with her sword? That would only damage it. Standing up, less out of breath, Link looked around the clifftop. Nothing. The falling rocks must have just been a stupid coincidence. Zelda made a small interested noise. "Look at this."

Link walked over and crouched down next to her. She was pointing at what looked to be a smear of liquid. It was difficult to see, but Link spotted a circle of the liquid around them. "What the heck is this?"

"I don't know... Could you look around a bit more? Maybe head up that hill."

Obeying the queen, Link stood up and walked over to the dark hill, trudging up its surprisingly steep side. Shadows over took more of the volcano side, the moon only but a slit in the night sky. The liquid trailed up the hill with him, and he turned back around upon reaching the top.

His scream was cut off by a hand covering his mouth. The person behind him tugged him back aggressively and pressed a knife to his throat. Their breath was warm against his ear, even in the already scorching temperatures. "Ah-ah-ah... wouldn't want to worry our dear Queen Zelda, now, would we?"

The words were slow and drawn out, the speaker lowering and raising their voice pitch and making it impossible to pinpoint their gender, or to allow him to think of anyone with the same voice. Link stared down at Zelda, an overwhelming sense of dread threatening to drown him. "Don't struggle, my dear friend... she won't see you anyways. Too dark, hmmm?" The knife blade dug further into his skin. His attacker's voice settled on a mid-pitched voice, able to belong to anyone. "I have a show to put on for you, alright, buddy?"

The golden-haired young man struggling furiously, the figure slipped their leg around Link's, managing to better hold him in place. Their voice turned harsh. "No struggling. That was my _rule_. You don't break my rules." A chill shot down Link's spine. "I make the rules... Ok, friend? And this game I'm playing only needs two players, got it?" The knife was removed from his neck. Their breathing became harsher, and the figure held out a gloved hand so that Link could see it. A match was between their thumb and forefinger, the hot air lighting it.

The attacker's voice pitch turned higher, almost playful and giddy, now. "My game only needs two people, right? I don't like when others... interfere." They dropped the match into the liquid. Link's heart skipped a beat, remembering that Zelda was in the middle of the liquid- no, _oil_ , he now knew- circle. The knife was once again against his throat.

The young man struggled more frantically as the voice in their ear became more sinister. "You see..." The oil caught fire, and spread quickly down the hill, circling Zelda. She screamed. "I won't tolerate others who want to play with us." Link tried to bite his attacker s hand, but the grip was too firm, and trying to pull their arm away was useless as well. "You want to play. You're a part of this now, and I... I don't like it. I want you to opt out of this game."

His throat began to sting, and warm liquid dripped down from a cut made by the blade. The attacker lowered both their voice volume and pitch, leaning in closer. "I've watched you break my rules and cheat... and I won't allow that." They slid the blade slowly across his neck, lengthening the cut. Zelda frantically spun around, screaming for help now. "You get one warning, kay, buddy? I think you're interesting. But after this, I'll kill you. You interfere with... my game, my rules, my _fun_ , and I'll send you to see your parents. I'll be watching you, Link."

Link was released and shoved forward, feeling blood flowing slowly from the cut in his throat. He whipped around, sword drawn, but his attacker had already vanished. No trace. He turned and sprinted down to Zelda, the flames lashing out and threatening either if they got too close.

"Zelda! Zelda, holy crap, are you alright?"

"LINK!" She saw him through the flames and tried to reach out before remembering the fire. "Link, HELP! W-what happened... How can we get rid of this... Oh goddesses..."

Link didn t answer but looked for a way to stop the furious flames. In the volcano, there wasn t much of an option... Getting Midna or the others was out of the question, the attacker was probably still nearby... Wait. Link frantically put on his flamebreaker helmet, and tentatively reached towards the flames. They grasped at him, but he felt no burn. Of course. He reached Zelda, and he eyes widened, meeting his. A moment of hesitation, then she took his hand.

Link pulled her out of the circle, her fireproof elixir keeping her safe. She gasped for breath, standing in front of him. "I-I... th-there was no real th-threat... huh?" Swaying, she jumped slightly when Link place a hand on her shoulder. "We should get back and tell Midna and Linebeck what happened. It's up to you if we should tell the other trainees."

The walk back was tense, every little noise out of place sending a shock through the duo. Link held his sword out while Zelda had an ice arrow nocked and ready. They had no other encounters on the path back to the small city.

Midna was easy to wake, Linebeck was not. Once waking them, Zelda led them outside to talk with them. She took a deep, shaky breaht before talking. "While we were walking around the volcano, I was attacked again. The person seemed to have set up a circle of oil and set it on fire, trapping me. My assumption Is that it was a scare tactic, as they most likely were aware of our fireproof equipment. I don't know where Link was at first though... He disappeared for a moment, after I sent him up a hill."

The mage and thief both glanced over at the short knight, and he felt uncomfortable under their curious gazes. "Yeah, she told me to check up there. It was much darker. See the cut on my neck?" He tilted his head back a bit and pointed to it. Zelda's expression showed that she hadn't seen it. "The person targeting Zelda attacked me."

Midna advanced on him, gripping his shoulders. "You did? What did you see? What do they sound like? What were they like?"

Link jerked back slightly. "I-I didn't see them. They had a knife, and they dropped a match in the oil. Their voice was weird, they kept lowering and raising the pitch, so I have no idea what they sound like. They... they called this whole thing a game. They said it was their game, and that they were playing it with Zelda. I was attacked because they said I was breaking their rules and interrupting their... fun."

Midna s grip slackened, and she seemed to deflate. They're insane. What kind of _sicko_ spends a year trying to kill a queen, then calls it a game, giving it rules and having fun?" Linebeck stayed silent, his head tilted slightly down with a disquieted and shocked expression. Midna crossed her arms and met Zelda's eyes. "Are you ok...?"

She nodded confidently before speaking to Link. "Why did that maniac let you go? Did you escape?"

"No, they said I interested them, but they'll kill me if I interfere again. They just let me go. The whole trap was definitely a way to terrify us, and for the psycho to taunt and threaten me."

Zelda hugged herself limply. "I'm going the get some sleep. Thanks, Link". He nodded to her and watched her leave. Silence was suspended in the air between the three remaining people.

"She's brave," Linebeck muttered. His words became quieter, more of a whisper. "I'll give her that. To still head out and explore the world when she has a target on her back. Admirable..."

They remained for a moment longer before returning to the inn.


	11. Downtime

**I wish I was better with chapter names.**

 **Anyways, here's chapter 11.**

* * *

The rest of the trainees weren't informed about the incident last night. When asking the gorons, Zelda found out that no one had entered or left the city aside from Link and Zelda herself. The cut on the knight's throat wasn't a hassle to fix, and he was allowed to train with the others. She gave the five hylians a quick rundown of what they'll do for the time there.

"It'll be a bit different compared to Zora's Domain. You'0ll be doing more patrols and dealing with extreme temperatures. There are no veteran knights here, as you can see. A few times a day, Daruk will pull a few of you guys aside to teach about claymores." The queen glanced over at Damian with a faint smile. "I'm sure you'll be fine, however, Damian. If you guys need me, I'll stay in the city."

They all took a few minutes to get ready and left to get their assigned patrol routes. Once alone, Zelda sighed and slumped into a chair. The heat was uncomfortable, last night had put her on edge, and she was beginning to be worried about the castle. The inn keeper glanced over at her a few times, but never said anything.

Midna wasn't her only personal guard, Impa was the one who looked out for her at the castle. She was one of the last sheikah members left, and was known for that, and being a for midible woman. They were both rather protective but trusted her fully. When the attacks on her life began, Impa was the one charged with protecting her. The sheikah woman asked for Zelda s opinion, then called for the skilled mage to help. The queen remembered saying that she was scared and worried but didn t want to show people that. Midna and Impa had been supporting her since the attacks, helping her keep calm.

Zelda had always remembered Impa looking out for her and saw her like a second mother. When she met Midna, the mage was less stern, more playful, and Zelda admittedly found it easier to be more playful with her. Not that Impa was against those things. Recently, Zelda had left Impa in loose charge of things at the castle, trusting her fully. But she couldn't help but worry about how things were going.

So deep in her worried thinking, the queen never noticed when Midna sat down next to her and was a fair bit surprised when she spoke. "You doing alright? Like, mentally and emotionally? I understand that last night was a bit of a shock. And with everything else..."

The tall mage was close to Zelda, and the queen took a chance to look her over. Grayish-blue skin with the blackish markings, trademark of the twili, and a fairly thin robe-like garment. The queen always thought that her long, orange hair was beautiful. Meeting her yellow and red eyes with her own blue, Zelda mumbled weakly, "I am feeling much less confident. I'm tired from keeping up a lively and strong act around the others, and I know I m normally like that, but these attacks are really getting to me. I..." She glanced aside for a moment. "I'm grateful that you're here for me. I guess I haven't really thanked you for those few times where you pulled me aside and allowed me to just... Talk."

A few moments of silence passed, and Midna gentle laid her hand on top of Zelda's head. "I can see that you've still been struggling with being queen. You were shoved into the spot rather quickly, and the way your parents were killed did affect your outlook and emotions. And the way you reacted had a negative effect as well." She began to softly play with Zelda's hair. "Let's talk about some more... positive things that have happened recently, eh?" Midna's over-the-top smile made Zelda giggle. "Sounds good, Midna."

The mage removed her hand from Zelda's head. "The knights have been doing well, especially Link, or as I call him now, Wolf. He took down a lynel, saved your life a few times, and has helped you in a few other ways! He's an exceptional young man. Let's not forget about the others! Rowan and Damian are showing to be excellent fighters, and I've heard that they've fought a number of monsters as well. Jan is compassionate and is like an emotional support to the others when needed, and Everen has a valuable sense of loyalty and duty. We've got a great group this year, huh?"

Zelda beamed proudly. "Yeah, I'm happy to be helping them along. Perhaps one or two of them might want to join the royal guard when done...?" She moved her chair closer to Midna. "I'm also curious about their reactions to the other guilds. We're doing the scholar s guild next, so I wonder what they'll do in the time there." Placing the sheikah slate on the table, the two of them checked the map. "Yeah, they're in Hateno town. I'll give them more time, it's a big town." While Zelda fiddled with the map, Midna glanced over her shoulder. "What s your opinion on that scruffy thief Linebeck that we picked up? I've voiced that I'm not too fond of him, but all I've got from you is that he piques your curiosity."

Zelda followed her gaze and saw the odd thief simply laying on the ground, his feet propped up on one of the beds. "He's... strange, yeah. Skilled with a bow and sneaky, defiantly well-known, but full of himself and... cold, I guess.' Across the room, he pulled his feet off the bed and stood up, glancing over at them. He must have heard them talking about him. "You guys said my name? Mind if I join in your conversation?"

"Yeah, we mind. This is sort of private though, so we'd both appreciate if you didn't listen in. Thanks." Zelda smiled apologetically and watched his reaction. Or, more rather, looked more at his appearance. "Isn't that an old sheikah stealth armor set? How'd you get that? Those are really rare nowadays."

It seemed to take Linebeck a moment to process the question. "I stole it from a place, as an assignment. I edited it, hence the missing sheikah symbols and crap. The cloak I made by hand, from scratch, same with the scarf. If you have any need of me when you're done talking, I'll be exploring this city a bit more." The lanky thief strode out the door, and Zelda heard him mutter in an undertone, "Damn... why is this place so bloody hot?"

The two women were quiet for a moment, and Zelda said, "I wonder how long he's had insomnia. I mean, the circles under his eyes are practically black."

Midna leaned back, crossing her arms. "Yeah, he's had it for a few years. Leading off that, while in Hebra, he mentioned nightmares and sleep paralysis. He's got a few sleep disorders but is really good at hiding things like that. Adding on, he's just about skeletal, but is stronger than he looks. Want me to go on a rundown of what I ve learned about him from the time in those stupid mountains?"

Zelda nodded more eagerly than she intended. Midna sighed. "You already know that he's arrogant, a coward, and doesn't exactly take things seriously. He's a loner, explores a lot, likes the ocean and I suspect even considers about being a sailor, maybe when people actually consider making a port." She paused. "I mean, he already cusses like a sailor, so he's on his way." The two of them laughed. "Continuing on... He s paranoid, a bit on the lazy side, and greedy to the point of scary."

"Wait, really? Give me an example? I know he mentioned treasure before, but right now I've seen no evidence."

The mage leaned forward, her elbows on the table. "He left me for dead at one point in the mountains, deciding that a rumored cavern with gold was more important than that of my safety. He almost died trying to get to a chest, and I left that place with less than half of the money I came in with. It's bad."

Feeling a burn, Zelda asked for Midna to pause, and dug through her bag for a fire-proof elixir. Finding it, she drank it and let Midna to continue. "That's about the gist of it, along with he's insensitive. I don't like him. Though, if you can gain his trust, he's pretty loyal. He is loyal to his guild, I know that, good with a bow, too, and patient. A surprisingly good leader, if rather selfish. Those are his only visible good traits." The mage yawned, stretching exaggeratedly. "I need a nap, I was up until dawn since you and Link came back."

Standing up with another, more suppressed yawn, the older mage left Zelda alone with her thoughts again. Slight confliction floated around in her mind. Midna seemed to want to discourage her about wanting to know more about Linebeck, subtly telling her that it simply wasn't worth it.

And yet she still wanted to know more, to know about why he traveled and why he acted the way he did. The others in the group were more open that he was; Midna was not afraid to be vocal about her motives, and Link was straightforward, but Linebeck mostly gave out basic information about himself, at least not to Link. She'd noticed that Linebeck was more willing to stay around Link, even if it had only been about two days since he joined the group.

Standing up herself, Zelda shuffled out of the inn, her sword and shield equipped. It took a few minutes, but she located an open spot in the city to practice. Two bridges were on opposite sides, while the other two led to lava. If she wanted to leave, there was an open bit in one of the bridges to climb up. Zelda unsheathed her sword and sighed.

Recalling Link's grace when he fought at Zora's Domain, she studied her own blade. His fighting was exceptional. Before meeting him, she had actually heard rumors of a skilled swordsman in the town he was from but paid it no heed. Thinking back to his moves, she began to imitate it. His style was more of a freestyle, whereas Zelda was always trained under the wings of Impa and the older royal guards.

A few swings in, she felt herself reverting to her own style. Putting more effort into recreating Link's style, Zelda soon became absorbed in her own imaginative battles. She found herself imagining similar enemies, commonly switching between blocking imagined Yiga attacks and lynel blows. Stopping a few minutes in, panting, she almost chastised herself for sweating so early in before remembering the heat of the area.

After a moment of rest, Zelda sprang back into fighting, this time with her shield. Her mock swordfights were more for getting muscle memory down as opposed to getting ready for real battles. Minutes flew by in instants, and she felt herself melting into the forms and movements she d been taught for years. Stopping eventually, she noticed that a few of the gorons had started watching. Zelda waved at one of them.

She put her weapons away and left the area, the gorons moving out of the way and murmuring amongst each other. One of them smiled and said, "That was impressive!"

Zelda smiled sheepishly and reached the inn again. None of the knights had returned yet, but she caught a glimpse of Daruk simultaneously encouraging and intimidating Everen and Link whilst teaching them to use claymores. The others were probably still out on patrols. The whole city was laid out in a way that was easy to traverse, but the heat was always a problem. The inn was at least one degree colder.

Midna was still asleep in one of the corners, having clearly ignored the beds and just leaned against the wall. Zelda sighed to herself and put her equipment away. There wasn t too much to do here when the trainees were out training. At this point, they still had about three hours until they returned to the inn. At least in Zora's Domain, she could talk to Mipha more often. Daruk was usually out of the city most of the time, she had learned a few years ago.

She almost resigned to boredom when Linebeck walked back into the inn. "Oh! Hey! Can I talk to you?"

He glanced over at her and shrugged. "Yeah, sure. I've got nothing better to do."

Zelda settled into the same chair as earlier and waited until the thief sat across from her. "What's your opinion on Midna?"

There was a quiet moment, Linebeck removing his hood. "Well, she's okay. I respect her since she s pretty damn strong, but I'd prefer to avoid her overall. I... don't have much to say."

Zelda nodded, satisfied with his answer, and blurted out her other question. "Ok, not to be rude, but why's your hair like that? I mean, not the whole greenish-brown color but more... how it sticks out. Like, why do you keep it a little longer than shoulder-length, and why does it, like, stick straight out a little at the bottom? And what's with the weird little tuft on hair on the top of it all, I mean-" She cut herself off, feeling her cheeks grow warmer.

Thankfully, Linebeck didn t look to be offended in any way, if anything he looked amused, running a hand through his hair. "I don't really know, either. It's always been like that, and there's nothing I can do. It can, for example, get wet, and then dry exactly like this. Any other questions? I like to talk about myself."

If he enjoyed talking about himself, that would definitely make a few things easier for the queen. A long list of questions flew through her head, and she chose one that she wasn't alone in being curious about. "So, I've noticed in these, uh, three days, you've mostly avoided everyone except Link. Why is that?"

Zelda leaned forward, hoping that would indicate how eager she was to have the question answered and that she wanted a detailed response. Linebeck clearly didn't notice, or just ignored it and smiled smugly before answering. "I guess since he was one of the first of you I met, I'd prefer his company, just not very often. He s a bit more... how should I put this? Trusting? ...Respectful of people who are clearly better than he is?"

...Better? Was he serious? Have you ever seen Link fight? He s very skilled with a sword and shield, and recently fought a red lynel! "How could you possibly claim to be better?"

The two of them regarded each other, a few moments of silence before Linebeck responded to Zelda s second outburst. "He's good with his own weapons, yes. I doubt he's better than I am with a bow. I'm sure I m better than you. Honestly, I could probably beat him in a fight."

Zelda placed her hands on the table and leaned forward a bit. "Prove it then. Both of them. Prove that you re a better bow-user than I am, and that you're a better fighter than Link."

She glared directly at him, not daring to blink too often. He averted his eyes but maintained his arrogant smirk. "I've had more practice with a bow. Sure, you've had more time, but you've also been dealing with swords and shields, which, from what I've seen, seems to be your dominant fighting style. I focus on marksmanship. Besides, I have the superior bow."

Midna stirred in a corner but didn't wake up. Linebeck continued, meeting Zelda's blue eyes with his own green. "And concerning Link, he can't do long-range attacks. I get some distance, he's dead. And even if distance isn't available, I've put some time into using a single arrow like a melee weapon." He leaned back in his chair, more relaxed. "I think my point has been proven. Other questions, or are you done?"

The words floated around in Zelda s mind for a moment. He was correct about his bow skilled compared to hers. She was good with a bow but didn't focus on it all too much. However, with his skill compared to Link's... everyone had yet to properly see how he'd react to ranged attacks, and there was a good chance that Linebeck was lying about using an arrow in close quarters. Sighing in defeat, Zelda relaxed and asked the next question in her mind. "What's your opinion of me?"

Linebeck tilted his head. "Do you want the nice version or the honest version?"

She was expecting this, or something similar. Zelda glanced away and took a deep breath. "Ah... honest...?" From the way he put it, the honest opinion would be pretty harsh.

"Right then. Basically, I'm not a fan of being around you. I've forgiven you mostly for what you did about six years ago, but the rest of my guild still has trust issues. A few of us trust you completely now, but the rest of us don t like you. My thought process is questioning why you're trusted to be queen, when one of your first actions in the position was to declared war on a faction of your citizens based on a vague suspicion. Let's make a list of what happened during that time, huh?

"Starting with not giving us an option. You gave us a day of warning, and then attacked. No one was ready, and a lot of people died on that first day. We fought back and were noticeably losing. I was about seventeen at the time, and it's not too great to have the guild you want to join be attacked. Around the time it ended, when you came to your senses, you managed to wipe out about half the guild."

Everything he said was true, Zelda was painfully aware of that. It was one of her most profound regrets, losing control and attacking the guild with no real evidence. She went to stand up, but Linebeck clearly wanted the conversation to end on a different note. "So, uh, isn t there a hinox just off the perimeter of this volcano?"

"A hinox? Oh, I think there is. Has it been bothering people? I know those can be very dangerous when awake. Depends on the kind, too."

"The word going around is that it s a black one. I could take a look later, if you want... and if you pay me. I'd rather not be attacked by some monsters for nothing."

In one swift movement, Zelda stood up and shoved her chair in. "You don't need payment to go scouting. Besides, aren't you stealthy enough not to get caught?"

The thief glanced away from her nonchalantly, tapping his fingers rhythmically on the table. "The money will provide a bit more motivation, and I might put some actual effort in. I'm not really a part of this group like Midna is, I'm in this for myself. I therefore want something in return for helping." A moment passed, and he stood up as well, but left the chair out. "I'll just wait around here until you decide. Shouldn't those crappy wannabe knights be done with today's patrols soon?"

Almost on as if on cue, the group of trainees stumbled in, panting. Damian looked to be the least exhausted of them all, but the heat clearly took a toll on them. Link shuffled into the inn after all of them, taking a turn and stopping in front of Zelda. "You guys got any sort of thing to cool us all down...?"

Zelda shook her head, then pursed her lips before voicing her main reason. "The main reason for training here is to get you ready for extreme temperatures, correct? That's why it s all patrols. Zora's Domain was to let you get used to a schedule."

Link pouted, and shuffled over to one of the beds, collapsing on the hard rock. Most of the other trainees were rather tired as well, but Damian seemed to be fine overall. Leaving Linebeck alone at the table, she walked over to him. The dark-haired trainee noticed her before she reached him. "Oh, hi. Did you want something?"

"Yeah. I can tell that you dealt with the conditions better than the others. Have you had experience with this kind of heat before?"

Damian shook his head. "No, I've never visited the volcano before. I did grow up in Lurelin, so I've dealt with some warm temperatures before. You don't look all too bothered by the heat, either. Does the potion cool you down a bit or something?"

"A little bit, but not too much. I've been here a few times, so I've been able to adapt slightly, and I'm pretty sure the other two have visited a few times in the past."

They regarded each other for a moment longer before ending the conversation. A few minutes passed, and things were like normal, the trainees all talking together over food. Zelda only took a small amount, and sat on her bed across from Midna, who was still asleep.

Hours had passed since the trainees returned, and the sky had darkened significantly. The queen sat outside the inn, watching the twinkling stars far above the land. She recognized a few of the constellations, named after people and events in legends in the distant past. One of her tutors at the castle had taught her the names of many of them, but she had forgotten. Zelda never really wrote them down.

"I think I know the names of a few of those. I'm pretty sure one or two are good when sailing, I'll need to do more research on them."

Zelda flinched, unaware of when Linebeck sat next to her. He watched her, clearly expecting her to say something, but she just ignored him. Sighing, the thief leaned back with his arms behind his head. "I'd assume you know at least a few of these, don't the royals have a bunch of private tutors or something like that?"

"I learned their names, I just never wrote them down or anything."

Linebeck turned to face her, mock surprise etched on his gaunt face. "Really? So, you forgot because you never took notes. Thought yourself above notes, or did you just forget to put pen to paper?"

Zelda opened her mouth for an indignant response, but he faced the sky with a faint smile. "Honestly, I'd be pretty gutted if I went to find those notes only to remember that I never took them. I guess with libraries around Hyrule you can just do a bit of research and there they are."

Abandoning the urge to respond, the queen relaxed with a sigh. A few faint, dark clouds drifted across the sky, but were barely visible.

"Soooo... payment? Or am I not gonna scout for ya?"

Zelda scowled at him. "Fine. I can offer you a topaz that you can sell. That is my only offer. Take it or leave it."

"Yeah, I'll take it, but do you have it with you now?"

Continuing to keep scowling at him, she reached into her pack and took out the gem. "Yeah, I've got it. You're going to scout out only where the hinox is. Return before sunrise, alright? And report anything suspicious you see. No objections. You might as well go now."

The thief grabbed the gem from her hands and without any words, stood and ran out of the city. The queen leaned back with an exasperated sigh, watching him turn and wave before leaving the city itself.

"Jerk..."


	12. Scholars

The morning was near silent, the only noise being the bubbling of lava. Link sat with his legs crossed outside the inn, staring at the two pots by the doorway. He woke up the latest, but all of the trainees were given about two hours before being assigned their new patrol routes. Most of the trainees were talking again, but Link decided not to join in.

Apparently, Zelda had asked Linebeck to go out on a sort of scouting mission, and he returned rather soon after Link had woken up. The thief had found the location of a black hinox, and showed the queen where on her sheikah slate. The other trainees learned about the monster, and their instant reaction was boiled down to it being another way for Link to prove himself. The lynel fight had apparently increased their trust in his fighting skills.

Midna drove the excited knights away from Link, telling them that just because he fought a lynel doesn't mean he can fight anything. The mage's words made Link feel less impressive, but he was still amazed by how much the other trainees believed he could do.

He lost track of time sitting outside the inn, and soon enough, he was given the day s patrol route. The routes seemed to be recycled, he could recall Everen getting the same route yesterday. The path from the city to the eldin bridge would be more eventful than yesterday's city gates. With his sword and shield equipped and ready, Link headed down to the start of his route.

Walking up and down these routes was boring, and around midday he would ve been thankful for the appearance for a monster. Halting at one point, Link watched a group of lizalfos dancing around. Their calls were rather loud and try seemed to be dancing around an ore rock.

Tired of just trudging around, looking like a stupid golem, Link drew his sword and shield and leaped across the small gap of lava, intent on reaching the monsters. Sneaking would be impossible with his armor, but he managed to get rather close by finding good places to maneuver. It was chiseled out so that it would be fairly easy to cross the area.

The three lizalfos were still dancing around the rock when he neared them. Each red, they were clearly fire resistant, but not sword resistant. Not wasting a moment, Link lunged at them, taking only a few moments to dispatch the first one. The other two attacked him soon after, but he was able to dodge their attacks and kill them with a few well aimed cuts.

They each disappeared into black smoke, and Link turned back to focusing on his patrol. He returned to the city later in the day, and the mundane cycle repeated, lonely patrols for the majority of the day. The only really interesting things that happened was after patrols and talking to the graduated guild members, and when Daruk would pull him out for claymore training.

Link personally enjoyed being around the goron chieftain. He found him to be contagiously optimistic, and a respectable fighter. Everen was usually called with Link. The golden-haired hylian got a quick hang of claymores, already used to the weight of his swords, but Everen had more trouble, only used to spears, but Daruk was patient with him.

The subject of the hinox was popular, and the gorons explained that they were unable to fight it, as they were busy with repairs after a recent small eruption.

"It's destiny," Damian teased, poking Link. "You need to fight some kind of huge monster every time we go to a new town."

Link frowned. "Yeah, but why me? Sure, I fought that lynel with Ravio, but what if you guys want to fight it and prove yourselves, too?" Damian punched him lightly. "Well, Jan has said that she has no want to fight monsters of that scale, same goes for Everen. Rowan doesn't want anything to distract her from training. I just want to see you become more well known. You're the perfect person to do it."

Was he really? Sure, Zelda took an interest in him, and he did kill that lynel, but he really only wanted to become a knight. Everyone was treating him like some big-shot hero. Linebeck helped bring down a silver lynel and still used it's bow, and yet Link was the one being fawned over. He sighed. "I guess I could ask if the gorons want me to do it."

Damian smiled, and left him alone. Time seemed to pass quicker in the Goron city than Zora's domain, maybe perhaps he found Zora's domain to be more interesting. Before he knew it, three weeks had passed, and Zelda had the knights packing up for their visit to the scholar's guild.

"This time, you don t need to bring much, and anything you might bring back will just burst into flame." Even with that warning, Link saw Damian placing his monster tooth necklace in a pocket. He had recently collected a lizalfos fang, which was now hanging with the bokoblin tooth. Again, Link was one of the last to finish, and he gathered with the others. Zelda, Midna, and Linebeck were in more casual clothes, so the knights-in-training would stand out more painfully.

The teleporting still kept its disconnected feeling, but once regaining his bearings, Link felt better. The Hateno Village was certainly colder than Death Mountain. The town was large, and yet there was only a small number of people out a about, talking to others and tending to fields of crops or animals. This would be more interesting.

* * *

Ezlo stepped out of the library. So, the knights-in-training were coming to visit his guild today. Peering around to try and see them, he spotted the group near the shrine. The older man wasn't really interested in seeing the recruits though. He was more interested in what his beanpole friend was doing with them.

Heading over in their general direction, Ezlo shoved a crate out of his way with the butt of his lizal spear. He'd been using it like a staff for a few years now, and it usually scared a few people away. After all, most people try to avoid an older man with a forked lizal spear. Whatever. Gave him more time to read.

Stopping a few feet from where they were walking, he stroked his long, white beard and smiled at the queen. "Welcome, Zelda. I can see you've all just come from Death Mountain." He eyed the comically armored knights. "It's rather obvious."

Zelda shrugged. "No kidding. Do you want to lead any of them around? Or should we just let them go where ever?"

Ezlo tilted his head. "Well, do you trust them? I have business with your newest member, so I wouldnt do it anyways. Just let them check out the whole town." He held out his arm, gesturing to the village behind him. The queen said a few quick words to the knights, watched them leave, and walked off with Midna. Linebeck was the only one left. He rubbed the back of his neck. "Oh, hey, Ezlo. How are you?"

Ezlo jabbed the butt of his spear into the ground. Linebeck flinched. "How about you take a walk with me. Fill me in about what you've been doing. Also, it's good so see your casual clothes again." Seeming to take the statement as a small ego boost, Linebeck smiled, putting his hands into his coat pockets. In Ezlo's opinion, the thief had a great sense of style, with his red scarf and aqua vest over a simple dress shirt. His trademark was the long, dark blue coat he was usually seen wearing when not sulking in the shadows as a thief.

Now that he thought about it, Ezlo noticed that Linebeck seemed to have two different personalities that somehow were the same. "Come on, I want this to last an hour. I'll tell you about what I've been doing." He stood next to Linebeck, and managed to get him to walk besides him. They seemed to do this whenever they met up, walking along some path and going over recent events. "So, I've just been doing a lot of research on sorts of traps, and past assassinations. You know, to try and help out Zelda."

Linebeck stared down at the scholar. "Really? How did you even find those books? There aren't too many of those, right?"

Pointing his spear at the library, Ezlo chuckled. "I have my apprentice, Vaati, go find them for me. He's more into that kind of stuff. He's really ambitious, you know. He wanted to be in the mage's guild, but never showed any magic skill. Poor boy. He'll be a valuable scholar, however."

They passed a tavern, loud talking coming from within. A sharp right turn and they crossed the bridge to the other part of the town. "How have you been? Quite an honor, being allowed to travel with the queen and oversee the training of knights."

"Hah, I sorta just got in because Midna wanted to restrict the amount of space I can travel as payback. As for the knights..." Linebeck turned and glanced at the excited group of knights. "They're all a bunch of dorks. Just a bunch of mindless fighters wanting to be in the spotlight by training to protect the most important person in the kingdom. No discernable personality for most of them. That blond-haired pup wearing the green is interesting, though. He's the one who fought the lynel." Linebeck turned his gaze back to the elder. "There's now a hinox problem, and he might take it on."

Ezlo stroked his beard. "A hinox, huh? I have yet to see one. Didn't that kid fight the lynel with the rabbit-eared merchant, Ravio?" An idea made its way into his mind. Linebeck sighed. "Back to your research. What have you found out? Zelda was apparently attacked recently. We could all use some tips to stop this damnable attacker."

Ezlo halted. "She was attacked recently? Tell me what you heard!"

"Basically, what they told us is that Zelda and Link went out and took a walk and Link we off to check on something. Basically, Zelda didn't realize she was in a circle of oil, and Link could do nothing but hope for her safety as the psychopath of an assassin held a knife to his throat and trapped Zelda in a ring of fire. It was only a scare tactic, but it really did its job."

The two of them stopped at a fork in the path. Ezlo was silent for a few moments. "Only a scare tactic... Did Link see the madman?"

Linebeck shook his head, watching the knight in question reading a message board. "No, he said he only heard their voice. Problem is, the person we're dealing with has quite the voice range. He claimed that they kept changing their voice pitch, and tone. It could be anyone, really."

Their walked resumed, and Ezlo changed the subject. "So, about this hinox. Link was allowed to bring his friend to fight the lynel. The knight is checking out the note board, correct?"

Not too many used the note board, since it was only for complaints of monsters and problems, but a few people would read them, and help the people in question. Seeing the young trainee there would make sense. "Uh, yeah he's over there. What, you gonna go introduce yourself?" Ezlo nodded, turning around. "That's exactly what I'll do. Don't even try to get me to stay, you can socialize just fine with other people."

The older walked off, and Linebeck fiddled with his hands for a moment before leaving as well.

The path back to the board was simple, and Link looked to be glancing down, reading every small ask for help. Ezlo stood next to him and read them at a slowed pace. A farmhand asking to help protect sheep... collecting a number of bugs... a footrace. Link glanced sidelong at Ezlo. "Hi. You greeted us, right? What's your name?"

"I am Ezlo. You're Link, correct? The one who fought the lynel."

The trainee nodded, rubbing the back of his neck. "I guess I really am a bit famous around Hyrule right now. I saw that you were talking to Linebeck for a bit. Do you two know each other?"

"Yeah." The scholar replied, glancing over his shoulder. "I've known him for a few years now. Met him about three years before he joined his guild. What about you? He seems to actually put time into caring about your presence. Though I believe he's using knowing you as a bit of an ego boost; knowing someone else who fought a lynel does make you more well known."

Link glanced away uncomfortably. "I do kind of suspect that, but I still want to actually get to know him. He's really only told us things you can learn from people who know him loosely." He crouched down and read the bottommost complaint. "This is pretty cool. You don't usually see any sort of community board like this. How often do people help out?"

Stroking his beard, Ezlo tilted his head. "About one per month, but sometimes I task my apprentice with doing two of these in a month." Link nodded and faced him. "So, do you need anything from me?"

Ezlo shook his head. No, I m offering my services. I've yet to see a hinox in person."

Smiling, Link nodded. 'Well, could you show me around the town? Its bigger than Lurelin. Beautiful, too."

Ezlo nodded and began his tour of the town. He showcased the farming district and explained that most of the farmers were not part of the scholar's guild but exported most of their crops and products to the other towns around the continent. Most of the animals were goats and cuccos, and Link stopped to pet one of the friendly farm dogs.

The majority of the rest of the town was homes and buildings devoted to the guild based there. Each house could hold about five people, and some of the smaller ones for two. Ezlo pointed out his own house, where he lived, and where Vaati often came to study. "Who exactly is Vaati?" Link asked, glancing around, as if expecting the person in question to appear out of nowhere.

"He's my apprentice," Ezlo explained. "Some of the more experienced scholars get the chance to train a skilled scholar." He then poked Link's shoulder. "If you were a scholar, I doubt you'd be apprenticed."

Link flinched away, a bit hurt. Ezlo laughed. "So yeah. Vaati is an ambitious young man, a bit younger than you. He's easy to usually see, he dyed his hair purple recently. He originally wanted to join the mages guild, but has no magic talent so settled for this guild."

The young knight nodded and glanced around. "It's pretty peaceful here." He turned to face Ezlo. "Another question, please don t be offended, you don't look to be hylain, your eyes seem too dark and your fingernails are a bit...sharp."

Ezlo nodded. "I don't take offense. Have you ever heard of the old Picori race? My apprentice and I seem to have some characteristics of them. We aren't entirely sure why, but yeah."

Link paused, and smiled, satisfied with the given answer, and pointed to his staff turned spear. "Also, isn't that a lizal forked spear you ve got there?"

"Yes. I got it from a fight with one of those scaly creatures a few years back. It certainly works, doubling as a staff and weapon. Back to my helping you with the hinox; they sometimes have armor on their legs, which is the only part you can reach. With my spear, I can reach higher. However, you can attack it properly if you can shoot its eye. Can you use a bow? I'm able to, but not very well."

He watched as the boy rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably. "Uh... no. But! I can get Linebeck to teach me! If... If he's willing."

Ezlo chuckled softly. "I'm sure if you word it correctly, he might teach you how to hold it correctly. Now, do you want to see the old sheikah building? Some say that the ones who worked there were allies to heroes of the past, but now it's just a rickety old building."

To his disappointment, Link shook his head. "No, thanks. Besides, I want to tell Zelda about you wanting to help with the hinox. Nice meeting you!" Watching him run off, Ezlo realized that he should follow. He followed suit at a slower pace, giving Link a few moments to start talking to Zelda. The queen was standing under a tree with Midna, and the two were talking amongst each other before Link ran up. He was now speaking to the both of them, gesturing to Ezlo a few times.

The talking lasted only about two minutes, and Zelda waved at the scholar. He took it as an invite to walk over. "Yes? I'll assume Link told you about my wanting to help with the hinox." Zelda nodded. "I did and thank you for offering. Do you have the ability to use a bow? The pair of you may need it."

Ezlo nodded. "Yeah, I've got some experience with using bows. If you can provide me one, I'll be able to properly help Link here. Of course, he'll still be expected to do most of it."

The matter was sorted out, and Ezlo was officially returning to Death mountain with the rest of the group, staying the night, and helping Link with the hinox issue. The rest of the visit in the scholars' guild, Ezlo directed Link to the library and left him to read the history of the knight's guild. In Ezlo's clearly professional opinion, it was rather straight forwards; the guild was created as a way to protect Hyrule, boiled down, it was an honorable army.

He left the aspiring knight alone and decided to go and make sure Linebeck wasn't getting himself in any trouble as usual.

He wasn't hard to find, considering that he was one of the tallest people Ezlo had ever met. He was sort of just idly standing at a crossroads, the scholar recognizing it as the path between the rest of town and the path to Hateno Beach. Elzo walked up beside him. "You look lonely, as usual."

Linebeck shrugged, and muttered, "That's because I am lonely. I've got two actual friends, and I'm paranoid that the second friend is faking it."

Ezlo squinted at the taller man and remarked, "Try and be positive in a non-self-centered way for once. Who are the two friends? I'm going to assume I might be the second one, so I'm slightly offended."

"Right. You are the second friend. The other is that thief Ganondorf. You ever meet him?"

Ezlo had only met him once or twice, usually when visiting Linebeck in the thieves' territory every few months. Ganondorf was one of the younger members, famous for being a formidable fighter with a claymore. A few thieves dubbed him the Demon Thief out of respect. He was only about twenty at the moment, and Ezlo was unsure how Linebeck met him. "Yeah, I've met him a few times. Don't understand how you managed to be friends with him, but yeah."

Linebeck nodded slowly, and Ezlo followed his gaze to the horizon. "I've never really met anyone who was as obsessed with the ocean as you."

His statement was met with a shrug, and Ezlo continued, "You ve seen that island pretty far out, right? Do you ever want to check it out?"

"Yeah. I think people have started calling it Eventide Island. I'd definitely want to check it out at some point. Who knows? There might be treasure."

The scholar chuckled and started to walk back down the path. "Of course, that's why you'd want to check it out. Come on, we should probably meet back up with Zelda and the others. I won't try to bring any books with me, but I can give you guys a brief history of assassins in the past. I find it to be intriguing. He glanced slyly over his shoulder at Linebeck. Makes me feel like I can kill a ruler too, huh?" Ezlo laughed.

* * *

Once they returned to Death Mountain, the knights all worked on getting Ezlo a bed for the night. After much conversation, Ezlo pointed out that he didn t want a bed, that he d be fine curled up in a corner. The five knights stared at the scholar, confused, while the other guild members held back laughter.

Link managed to get details about the Hinox from Zelda. "Thanks for telling me this, it'll be really helpful! The info was simple but would prove to be important. It was later in the evening, with the sky getting darker. Ezlo hadn't done much talking with the other knights, he usually went with the group's leaders."

Only once every had completely put their things away did Ezlo talk to Link. Zelda clearly hadn t told the scholar much about the hinox, but she just let Link tell him everything.

"So, apparently, this hinox has been bothering all of the gorons who head to the area for both the hot springs and ore. It attacked them why they come close, and, due to the water around it, it hears them and wakes up when sleeping. A few people have managed to get past it, but only a few. They knew about me coming and decided to give me a chance to fight it." Link sighed and reached up to rub the grip of his sword. Though I feel like everyone's starting to overestimate me after the lynel fight."

The scholar smiled sympathetically and waited for Link to continue. "It s apparently a black hinox with metal protentional armor on the..." Link trailed off and peeed at Linebeck, who had actually seen the monster. The thief noticed his lingering glance and waved his right hand. "...right leg! Yeah! What kind of bow are you going to use?"

An extended finger pointing towards the room corner brought the blue-eyed trainee's attention to a knight's bow learning against the rock. In Link's mind, it was a good choice, easy to find and durable, plus it wouldn t burn up like weaker bows. I brought a few different arrow types, just in case. I ll use my electric arrows." Ezlo stroked his beard and asked, "Now then, did you manage to convince Linebeck to show you how to use a bow?"

Link shook his head. He didn't really have any hope for the thief to teach him anyways, considering that when he approached him to ask, there was a look of contempt in his eyes. Of course, Link was used to that, considering that Linebeck didn t do all that much to hide his dislike of all the knights, but something seemed to be setting him off when Link walked over.

"No, he didn't even try and bargain. He just shot my inquiry down moments after I finished the sentence."

The older scholar let out a low chuckle. "I'm not surprised. He wouldn't bother teaching you unless you meant something to him anyways. So, don't really hope for it."

That was an interesting statement. Unless he meant something to the thief. Link replayed the words in his head a few times, aware that Ezlo had already walked away. The scholar clearly knew Linebeck fairly well, so Link trusted that he said about him. What if he meant something to Linebeck? It was rather clear that that would be hard to achieve, considering that the man really only interacted with the group by telling stories or answering a few questions; he seemed to have no intention of really getting know them, keeping himself at a distance.

A quick survey around the room told Link that the thief had slipped out in the past minute, but it was hardly uncommon for him to leave. A few times, Link had run into him in different parts of the city. At this point, the knight was half tempted to head out and try to find him, but his more rational thoughts had other ideas. Zelda was sitting at the table in the corner, the sheikah slate in her hands and casting a soft glow onto her face.

Link walked over to her and sat in a chair near her and coughed quietly to get her attention. She glanced up at him, and he whispered, "Could I take a look at the map? Y'know, to look for a route to wherever the hinox is." The queen didn't respond for a moment, then nodded aloofly, placing the slate on the table. Nodding in appreciation, Link searched through the map. There. The monster's location was brought to his attention by a little colored square. So, it would take Link and Ezlo across some rails, a few bridges, and finally have them climb over some cliffs to get there.

It was a long route, but rather simple, when the young hylain thought about it. The only difficulty would be the cliffs, whether or not Ezlo would be able to surpass them. But that would have to wait until tomorrow. Link placed the slate back in front of Zelda, who pulled it closer to herself. It was getting late. He might as well get some sleep, to be ready for tomorrow. Besides, it wasn t like he had anything to do overnight.


	13. The Black Hinox

**Well, this took a long time to write. Sorry.**

 **Then again, I was working on four other projects at the same time. Not a great idea.**

* * *

Most mornings, the knights were woken up by the graduated guild members. How it was done depended on who was waking them up. Zelda often was gentler, using a series of small nudges and talking brightly about the day ahead. Midna usually would shake the sleeping knight more violently, resulting in a shocked but awake trainee. Linebeck, surprisingly, would push the sleeper's shoulder a few times, leave, and if the knight was still asleep, would repeat the same motion.

Link wasn't woken up by any of them. When he opened his eyes, he was alone in the inn, the only one in there being the goron innkeeper, who waved at him. They had clearly all let him sleep in because of today's likely hinox fight. He stumbled out of bed, grabbing his equipment on the way out.

The day was smoldering, just like the last fifteen. Most gorons were out and about, so Link assumed it was late morning. He weaved through the bridge maze that made up the streets of the city and searched for the rest of his group. It thankfully didn't take long, Damian was stationed at the front gate. The dark-haired trainee waved, and Link ran up to him. "Hey! Thanks for letting me sleep in; where's Ezlo? I want to head out and face that hinox soon."

Damian pointed further down the path, saying, "He went down there with the other graduated guild members. They should be around the edge of the mine." Link nodded gratefully and jogged down the hill. Behind him, Damian shouted, "Do me a favor and get me a hinox tooth, alright? I want least want to own one."

Slowing down upon reaching the mine, Link stared around, looking for Ezlo. He walked further into the busy mine, smiling at some of the worker gorons. Only a few returned the smile, the rest were busy with chipping away at rocks and ore with pickaxes. The young hylain found the guild members quickly, walking along a patch of higher ground and discussing something. Or, more rather, simply talking, since they laughed a few times at what one of them had to say.

Link jogged over and waited until one of them noticed him. It took a few minutes, but Midna eventually spotted him lingering nearby. The four of them were still talking in a circle, and Linebeck was the one currently speaking. Midna stomped on his foot and he compliantly shut up while she waved Link over. "Hey, Wolf! You need anything from us?"

Zelda and Ezlo turned and faced Link, curious. "Oh, I was just thinking that Ezlo and I should head out to fight the hinox soon. I can wait, though, if you're doing anything important."

"No, no, we're just talking. Ezlo's been waiting for you anyways. If you want, I can help you guys reach the hinox." Midna grinned, and Ezlo glanced between Link and the tall mage. "It's not a bad idea. She could be helpful if we need to fight anything off on the way there."

Link nodded optimistically and wrung his hands. "So, are we going now?" Ezlo nodded, and Midna stepped out of the cluster of people. She walked over to Link, Ezlo following after a few moments. "Yep! Let's get going. I'm coming with you, and there's nothing you can do about it. C'mon, let's go now."

She smiled at Link almost mischievously, and walked down the path back to Goron City, gesturing for the other two to follow. The trio returned to the city, and Link looked up at Midna once there. "Now what? Where do we go?"

"I thought you looked at Zelda's map, Wolf. It's a good thing I volunteered to help you two out. The route you were assigned yesterday is the first leg of the path to the hinox."

She walked off and let the two men follow her at a slower pace. Link eyed the glowing claymore strapped to her back, and asked, "What element is the weapon you're using now?"

Slowing, Midna reached back and tugged it out of the strap, examining the blade closely. "It's ice. I'm using it here because it cools the air around it, so it's very comfortable. If you were to strike an enemy with it, they would most likely be frozen in an instant. Most people call it a Great Frostblade."

Link nodded, staring at the faint blue mist curling around the blade, and Ezlo made a noise of acknowledgment. "I've never seen one up close. Not too many mages visit my town; could you explain more about your guild and yourself as we walk? I'm sure Link and I could learn quite a bit from a higher-ranking magic-user such as yourself."

Slipping the frostblade back into its straps, Minda nodded with a smile. "Yeah, I can tell you guys a bit about my guild." They passed the shrine, Ezlo poking it with the tip of his spear for a moment before moving on. "Not too many mages go to the scholar's guild because we don't need your library, we have our own, and we don't like the thieves all that much, and you need to pass though their territory to get there."

She walked off the main path, heading down a fairly steep incline to the edge of the lava. "Hey, Ezlo, are you fine with stuff like this?"

Indignantly, Ezlo shot back, "I m fine, thank you! I am known in my guild for my spear skills- I'm not some old coot who needs help getting out of bed! Why, I'm only about twenty years older than you, aren't I, Midna? Don't underestimate me! I wouldn't have bother to ask to help if I knew I couldn't handle it-!"

"Yeah, yeah," Midna mumble, waving her hand dismissively. "Sorry for assuming. I won't do that again. Anyways, here's how we'll get to our destination! Or, farther along, at least." She announced, once they reached the bottom. Slapping a hand against the metal of a minecart, Midna declared, "Just hop in this, and I'll get us going. Don't question it, that makes it worse."

Link hopped in without a word, and Midna followed his lead. Ezlo was the only one left, staring at the cart skeptically. "How does it move, though?"

Midna gestured for him to join them in the cart, and answered, "As a higher-level mage, I'm not only restricted to elemental magic. With an amount of my energy, I can create small remote bombs. When placed in this small compartment," She pointed at a rounded cage-like compartment at the back end of the cart, "a bomb that is set off will make the cart move along the track. It's fun, and the compartment seems to shield the riders from the blast."

Ezlo squinted at the contraption for a moment and hopped in. "Let's just get this over with."

Link and Ezlo huddled closer to the front while Midna sat at the back. She cupped her hands in front of her, and a small ball of blue materialized. Midna dropped it in the compartment and explained, "It doesn't look like it, but that tiny bomb should get us to our stop."

Ezlo turned away, and Link watched while Midna snapped her fingers, and the little orb exploded. The cart sped forward, propelled by the blast. The hot wind blew against Link s face while the three of them rode the cart to the destination. Only Midna seemed to know where it would let off. Ezlo remained on the metal bottom, sitting next to Link and muttering to himself.

Nearing the next part of land, Midna got up to the edge. "Get ready to jump off there, this cart might continue beyond it."

Link stood next to her, bracing himself, and Ezlo got to his own feet just as they neared it. "JUMP!" Midna shouted, launching herself out of the cart. Link followed moments after, Ezlo copying him. Stumbling as he hit the ground, Link nearly fell over, Midna catching him. "Come on, we've still got a way to go. I wonder how the others are doing..."

Ezlo strode past the two of them, the tapping of his staff on the ground slightly muted by the loud scraping of the mine cart screeching away. "They'll be fine, Zelda's a capable young woman, and the knights are skilled. Linebeck's a mess but he can handle himself. We need to keep going, right? Please, lead the way, Midna."

She nodded for a moment and pointed up an incline. "There should be a few monsters up there, but we'd get to the hinox faster if we ignore them."

Following Midna closely, Link jogged up the hill and eyed the lizalfos cautiously. They glanced at them, surprisingly visible even in their camouflage. Ezlo glared at a few of them and got some angry hisses, but the monsters kept their distance. The group crossed a few bridges, the lava bubbling loudly beneath them as they travelled around the volcano. Link glanced up at it. "When was the last time this thing erupted?"

"I believe it's been about a century;" Ezlo answered, following Link's gaze. "We should be fine unless something would cause it to erupt."

Midna glanced back at them and muttered, "Let's focus on the present, ok? There's a hinox that you two need to defeat. Hurry up!"

They quickened their pace and Link pointed at a hunk of molten rock in the middle of a clearing. "That's an igneo talus, right?"

Midna nodded. "Yes. We're ignoring it because it doesn't bother people too much. Stay clear of it."

Walking around it near some ore deposits, Link jogged ahead of the group for a moment. "So, we head down a hill, go around some kind of lava lake, and then Ezlo and I have to climb up a cliffside, right?"

Midna nodded, stopping at the top of the hill. It was rocky on the way down, and they'd need to be careful. Ezlo squinted down the hill and started to make his way down first. Link cautiously followed, Midna jogging behind them at a distance. The heat filtered in through Link's helmet, his torso starting to burn. Perhaps he should've left the helmet behind, not the chest plate. At this point, he was worried that his sword and shield might melt, being so close to the lava.

Some lizalfos were swimming in the lava, clearly having adapted to the scalding heat of the volcano area. They screeched at the humans trekking near the shore but didn t attack. Reaching a cliffside, Midna peered up at the top. "This is the lowest point- beyond this would be a rather steep bit, then a drop-off into some shallow water. Ezlo, you should be more careful."

Link peeked sidelong at his older companion and asked, "Did you bring the bow? A-and some arrows?"

Nodded and putting his spear away, Ezlo showed Link the knight's bow he had brought, keeping it under his cloak. "I also have a few shock arrows, but only about five. That should hopefully be enough."

Midna bid them farewell and wished them luck before returning to the city. Link allowed Ezlo to climb first, so Link could keep an eye on him if he were to become unsteady. The old scholar was surprisingly fast, scrambling up the cliff swiftly but was panting heavily at the top. Link felt himself sweating from the exertion at the top, scraping the toes of his metal boots against the rock on his way up. There were many jutting rocks for Link to grip, but his hand slipped on a small one and he nearly fell. His heart pumping with fear, Link clung tightly to his one hold, and scraped at the rock with the other, frantically searching for another hold.

Clamping his hand over another bit of rock, Link rested his forehead against the burning stone and sighed out of relief. Continuing his climb up, Link reached up and Ezlo helped pull him over the cliff. Gaining footing, Link kneeled down, panting. "That was a bit stressful, huh?"

Ezlo chuckled and prodded Link with his spear. "Don't keel over now; we've still got to go down that steep part, remember? Don't tell me a bit of traveling is what will kill you." He helped Link to his feet, and the two of them gingerly made their way down the mountainside. Some birds were pecking at the rocky ground and flew or ran away when the humans came close. Starting to slide down the incline, Link prayed for safety and ran down the rest of the stretch. Ignoring Ezlo s shouts, Link launched himself off the edge, and landed in a pool of water.

It was lukewarm, and Link swam slowly over to a shallow bit and turned to wave up at Ezlo, who was staring down at him from the edge of the cliff. "You'll be fine, come on!"

Pulling off his helmet to let the water splash out, Link backed up while Ezlo jumped into the water a few feet away. The knight held back laughter as the drenched scholar stumbled onto dry land, his long beard sopping wet.

"...Please never make me do anything like that again. Come on, we should try and dry up a bit before fighting."

Link staggered onto the dry rock after him, squeezing water out of his hair. The hinox was visible from where they were, sleeping on its back. Definitly black colored, it would be a fairly difficult fight if Link knew anything about hinoxes. A few bokoblins were wandering around, but not in the path to the hinox. Link glanced at Ezlo, who didn t seem to be making too much of an effort to dry off. "The path should be clear, though on the map it showed some water around the hinox. It's better if we start attacking while it's asleep, right?"

A silent nod, and Ezlo started to walk to the hinox. Link followed after, putting his helmet back on and unsheathing his sword. Across some water, the camp of bokoblins was mostly quiet, the guards peering around with crude bows. They wouldn t be a problem, so Link sneaked passed them, Ezlo paying more attention to their surroundings. The hinox was surrounded by shallowed water, and Link nearly fell in. Ezlo pulled him from the edge and hissed into his ear, "You need to be quiet, you clumsy idiot, hinoxes are sensitive to sound when asleep. Try and get close before attacking- I'll shoot it in the eye when I get the chance."

Nodding silently, Link picked up the pace and sprinted around the long way, finding a dry path directly to the sleeping hinox. Ezlo was stationed at the far side, having rested his spear against a tree. Link drew his sword, nodding at the scholar, waiting until he nocked a shock arrow before making a move. Once both were ready, Link took initiative, and slashed at the hinox. The monster stirred rather quickly, and Link managed to get in a good number of hits before needing to retreat.

Whipping back around once he got to a safe distance, Link stared at the hinox as it got to its feet. It stumbled to its feet with a gruff groan, clearly in pain. It seemed less durable than the lynel- this wouldn't take as long. It shook its head and opened its large eye, yellow with a slitted pupil. A large target. Ezlo was already aiming, but Link waved at him to stop. The monster staggered around for a bit, shook its head, and spotted the hylian knight instantly. Starting to lumber towards Link, it didn t notice Ezlo behind it, waiting for it to turn around.

Adjusting his grip on his sword, Link sprinted to the side, just barely dodging the hinox aiming a clumsy swing at him. The monster's left leg was covered by metal, making it so any hits Link would administer would do nothing. Shock arrows would be useful. Ezlo aimed the arrow at the hinox's head, delaying the shot until Link turned it around. He sprinted around its feet, managing to slash at its unprotected leg.

Ezlo let loose an arrow once catching sight of the hinox's eye, and it hit its mark just as the monster noticed it. With a bellow of pain, the monster covered its eye with both hands and fell into a sitting position. Link started to attack again, almost letting out a laugh as the adrenaline pumped through his veins. This was much easier than the Lynel. After doing quite a bit of damage, Link backed up quickly as the monster got back to its feet and focused on Link again. It didn't seem to notice Ezlo. Link quickly ducked between its legs and started attacking the unarmored leg from behind.

The hinox jumped and slammed back into the ground, Link able to get away fast enough and without getting hurt. He stumbled back, falling on his behind. Ezlo shouted at him to get up while the hinox turned around. Stumbled to his feet for the next few seconds, the monster slammed its hand into Link, sending him tumbling backwards in a blur of pain. Falling flat on his back, Link rolled onto his side and gulped for air. The scholar squawked at him again and shot another arrow at the monster. It stuck in the middle of its belly, forcing it to faulter and pry it out.

"E-Ezlo! Shoot at the armor!"

Without hesitation, Ezlo aimed and shot at the metal as Link got back on his feet. Electricity covered the hinox s body, and it convulsed in clear agony. It let out a deep roar when Link plunged his sword deep in the unarmored leg. He dragged it down, ripping open the flesh, and stabbed it in a higher spot. The electricity died down again, and Link braced himself for another hit. The monster let out another shriek and stumbled back as another shock arrow pierced the eye. Smiling gratefully back at Ezlo, Link lunged at the monster, jumping up and slashing down.

A nearly dismayed roar was heard from the monster and it fell back, a black smog covering its entire body. Link backed up, giving Ezlo the thumbs-up when it dissipated into smoke. A small pile of items was left, mainly large teeth and toenails. Link nudged one of the oversized toenails with disgust. "Eww... where is Damian going to keep this?"

"Hm? Damian? Is that your black-haired knight friend?"

Putting away his weapons, Link picked up one of the teeth. "Yeah. He wanted me to collect one of these for him. Dunno what he wants it for, it won't fit on his necklace." Link put it away, and gazed at Ezlo, rather amazed. "But your archery! That was awesome! Did you learn to do that when you were younger?"

Holding out the bow, Ezlo shook his head. "No, I learned by copying Linebeck whenever he'd practice." With a sly look, Ezlo added, "He doesn't know that I watch him."

The two of them laughed and worked on returning to the city. They peered around for a bit, and Ezlo murmured, "Well, this is a dilemma."

"Yeah... how do we get back?"

At first, climbing back up the cliff seemed like a good idea, but Ezlo had problems with that. Link theorized about taking the long way around, but that would take them a few days at least. After nearly an hour, they were back at the cliff. "Perhaps they'll come looking for us," Link declared, "I mean, they know it would take us a long time to get back, right?"

Not even a moment after Link finished his sentence, a long rope was thrown over the side. Linebeck waved down at them, the two of them waving back up. Link grinned. "Hey, thanks! Where d you get-"

"Hurry up, screws! Get your asses up here, pronto! Emergency!"

Despite the warm air, a chill ran down Link's spine. Emergency? Hopefully no one was hurt. Link climbed up first, and the two of them helped Ezlo join them. Linebeck ran off before Link could ask what was going on and raced after him. Ezlo was just at their heels. "Hey, what's going on? Is anyone hurt or injured?"

"There was an explosion- sunk an entire city bridge into the lava. Almost killed Zelda, too! She did get hurt, though. A few people were close to falling in the lava, but that's being worked on. They sent me to get you guys after there was another explosion at another bridge. We're worried that someone's still there, rigging up these bombs."

Link and Ezlo exchanged anxious glances, and the trio sprinted back to the city without slowing pace. They stopped at the shine, and Linebeck pointed at a recent-looking plume of smoke, panting. "Looks like another went off, there goes another bridge." Link jogged down the path into the city and stared at the damage. Three bridges were out, cutting parts of the city off to other parts. The metal was sinking into the lava, the third bridge melting in the intense heat. Gorons were racing around, panicking, a small team with hardhats at each bomb site, one group talking with Daruk. Ezlo hurried past him, glancing over his shoulder and shouting at Linebeck, "Where's the queen?"

"U-uh- I think Midna moved Zelda to the inn."

Link and Ezlo sprinted to the inn, leaving the thief alone at the bottom of the path. It took longer to reach the inn with three bridges out. Midna met them outside. "Good, Linebeck found you guys. Link, you can stay here with Zelda. Ezlo, you and Linebeck should check around for more bombs, just in case." She took Link's arm and tugged him in.

"Ok, here's the deal," She briskly began. "Zelda's not too badly hurt, but she broke her leg getting away. Thanks for killing that hinox, by the way... she asked for me to bring you to see her when you came back."

Zelda was lying on one of the beds, her leg elevated by another, slanted rock. It was crude, but worked. Her leg was all wrapped up, Damian and the other knights talking in hushed tones on the other side of the room. Zelda attempted to sit up and fell back down with an irritated huff. "Link! How did the hinox fight go?"

"Uh, we won. But, more importantly, are you ok?!"

She smiled, but there was no humor. "I'm fine, don't worry. I hope no one else was hurt though. Those three bombed bridges, though, I frequented those while we were here. That psychopath has been watching us."

Midna gritted her teeth and clenched her fists. "I knew it... I should've put up some more night patrols, or- or have them check the borders of town... that's what Impa would ve done, if she were here, you'd be fine..."

Zelda's smile disappeared and she took Midna's hand gently. "It's fine, you did what you thought was right. Even Impa wouldn't have assumed that we were being watched the whole time. Don't blame yourself, please."

Midna smiled bitterly and nodded, rubbing at her eyes. "Thanks, Zelda..."

Link shifted slightly and walked over to the other knights. "Hey, Damian."

Damian glanced over his shoulder and turned around. "Hey, you're back! How did it go?"

Link help up a finger for Damian to wait and pulled out the hinox tooth. "This is what you wanted, right?" His friend tugged it out of his hands and stared at it, amazed. "Wow, it's huge. Oh, yeah. Zelda said we might be leaving a bit early due to the bombings. We should get our stuff packed up."

Link nodded and glanced over at the queen. "Do you think she'll be fine by then?"

Damian only shrugged. "We'll have to see."


End file.
